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Human life is a mere moment compared to eternity. Some live it quietly and modestly, while others are destined to be in the public eye, because they are chosen, noted from above and have a special mission - to go forth and light the way for those who follow. There are few such people, but they come into this life and illuminate it, leaving to continue their path among other stellar worlds. And we continue to love and remember them as long as we live. Sometimes, we throw our heads back, looking at the night sky and searching among the myriad stars for the one which connects us to them and warms our hearts with its memory - we remember and continue to love them, grieving over our loss.

Rasid Behbudov - hero of Socialist Labour, laureate of many state awards of the USSR, laureate of state prizes of Azerbaijan - is one of those stars. Bright and unusual. He is a person who, extolling the glory of his land a thousand times, ascended the heights, leaving us with his wonderful voice and his love. Actually, he was a singer of love: the most divine of human emotions. "If you give - you become richer, if you hoard - you lose" - with these words by the Russian poet Nikolay Dorizo and music by Tofiq Quliyev ("Song of Friendship"), the Soviet Azerbaijani singer, the great master, the People's Artist of the USSR, deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR with 25 years' experience, popular favourite and idol of the 20th century, Rasid Behbudov exemplified the moral ideals of the era. Actually, these were his ideals. He lived as he breathed, with full chest and effusively. He sang as he lived, with a heart overflowing with love and with an open soul. And he breathed in love for people and his land. And now, with his arms spread wide, as if he wanted to embrace the whole world and all humanity at once, he is carved in stone, sharing the silence of the Avenue of Honour with his younger friend Muslum Maqomayev and the brilliant politician of the 20th century - Heydar Aliyev. Their earthly journey was blessed and glorious. So, I think, was their heavenly journey. They became symbols of the era and the property of the nation. For this reason, now - in summer, winter, spring and autumn - Bakuvians visit them with flowers. They say that Rasid Behbudov was very fond of flowers. All of them. He treated them as living beings that understood everything. For this reason, he was able to communicate in his own way: he talked to them, healed them with his voice and with the gentle touch of his fingers and ... a miracle ensued! Flowers came to life! He called them miraculous and perfect creatures of nature, to be compared only with a perfect woman. And this was a separate theme of his songs and soul. Tremulous and penetrating. Mother, beloved, daughter and homeland...

First song. Firuza Vakilova

He inherited her aristocratic spirit, extraordinary delicacy, the softness of her soul, her great tolerance of the imperfections of the world, as well as her spiritual wisdom. She taught that only by your own perfection, can you make the world better: with love and an open heart you can multiply the good. Rasid was very attached to his mother from his childhood. This was natural, as he was her youngest son! As he lost her at 17, he was unable to live with this for the rest of his life. She was only 42 years old when she departed this world and left her three children - Anvar, Nacib and Rasid. Years later, Behbudov became a world celebrity and his repertoire always included songs about his mother: in Russian, Azerbaijani and Ukrainian - "Mama", "Ana", "Rushnyk". In whatever country of the world he sang "Ana" ("Mother"), he invested so much pain and anguish that audiences in India, Iran, Chile, Peru, China, Argentina, England, Belgium, Switzerland and many other countries and continents where he had a chance to hold concerts, understood and shared his anguish and pain as if he had sung in their native language. Each performance was a confession of the heart that did not have a chance to give her the filial love and care with which people in the East express respect and gratitude to their parents for the gift of life.

Firuza xanum, daughter of the commander of the Dagestan regiment of the tsarist army, received an excellent education and upbringing. She belonged to the noble Vakilov family and had two sisters and three brothers. Her brothers, just like their father Abbasqulu bay, dedicated themselves to the military profession. While bringing up three children, she managed to lead a women's Muslim society to study etiquette, Russian and French; she held performances in a drama circle where girls played both female and male roles. And all this happened in Tiflis where she had arrived with her young husband Macid Behbudov after he had kidnapped her in Susa. Firuza's family had gone there for the wedding of someone from Qazax. That's where Macid saw her. The girl's eyes, which gazed at the handsome Susa man, spoke volumes! The girl so struck his heart and imagination that he could not imagine life without her. And since he hailed from a merchant's family, not from the nobility, he did not risk making an official proposal of marriage. But he did find a way to meet the beauty queen and charm her with his wonderful singing voice! It was not difficult to do this, since selling fabrics and carrying them from house to house was in the nature of things. Macid felt pretty confident in the role of "Arsinmalci" (a merchant selling cloth by delivery) and was so handsome that not only girls, but married women looked at him. And although his family was rich and quite famous in Susa, they owned large plots of land, a drapery and stables in Agstafa - Abbasqulu would hardly allow his clever and beautiful daughter to marry an Arsinmalci! Therefore, without hesitation and taking advantage of the fact that the bey's family was still in Susa, Macid kidnapped the girl and hastily took her to Tiflis, where, incidentally, he ran his own business producing silk kalagai (women's shawls) and had quite a decent house. That's where the young couple settled. Their feelings were mutual, so this marriage produced three talented and beautiful children. I dare to think that they were happy, too. Since their father - Macid Behbudov - was a famous xananda (folk singer) who was invited to give concerts in Riga, Warsaw, Iran, Turkey and Georgia, the children inherited not only his love for folk songs, but his singing talent as well. From 1911 to 1919, 40 records of his songs were released. To date, the vaults of the London Royal Library hold records with the amazing voice of the xananda Macid! He was so popular in his time that his fame preceded him, opening the doors of aristocrats' homes and concert halls. However, speaking in modern terms, this was not his basic trade. He had his own small business, which enabled his family to live comfortably and made him known as a businessman and, therefore, as a distinguished man. The East is a delicate society. Here people know how to appreciate true male and human qualities. And once appreciated, they remember them for a long time and pass them from mouth to mouth and from generation to generation. Thus the public reputation of their parents was probably the dearest legacy that the children inherited. Much later, in Soviet times, Rasid - the son of Macid - would feel the protective power of his father's fame, which made the singer not only respected, but also legendary in Transcaucasia. This happened as follows. Rasid, a very young singer at the time, who had already worked in the Tbilisi Opera House and in the jazz orchestra of Armenia and who had travelled to give concerts in military units and hospitals, was noticed by Rza Tahmasib at a concert in Baku. This was 1944. The director of the film "Arsin Mal Alan" could not find an actor for the role of the merchant Asgar! He came to the concert by chance, but this meeting proved fateful for both: the director found his actor for the main role, while the artist moved to Baku forever! The situation is quite curious because Uzeyir bey Hacibayov, when creating his operetta, had based it on the story of Rasid's parents! Remember? She is the daughter of a bey and he is an orphaned son of a merchant? So, Macid Behbudov became the prototype for Asgar. The story of the two lovers who displayed wonders of ingenuity on their way to love leaves no one untouched, including the Americans who first attempted, in the silent movie era, to make a film of the story immortalized so well by the great Azerbaijani composer! Having played his own father, Rasid became so popular in Azerbaijan that one day he was summoned by the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, Mir-Cafar Bagirov. The singer, who had just returned from another tour and was living in the Hotel Inturist, which is known as the old Inturist to the current generation of Bakuvians, appeared at the reception in a very original outfit. Imagine: in a bright chequered jacket with large shoulders, shining hair, a bright tie and polished shoes. Dude! Now imagine Bagirov - in a blue, Stalin-type jacket, with round eyeglasses like Beria's and an expression that did not promise anything pleasant: this short actor was clearly different from the Asgar whom the first secretary of the republic had liked so much! "Whose son are you?" he asked, not hiding his disapproval. But when he heard that he was the son of Macid Behbudov from Susa, he exclaimed: "The singer Macid?" His expression warmed and his tone changed. He said that such a singer should not live in a hotel: it is time for you to have your own house and, therefore, the government will allocate an apartment to you. This is how our favourite artist got his first apartment at Lower Bulvarnaya Street (now Bakixanov Street) near Krasnoarmeyskaya Street (now Samad Vurgun Street). Bakuvians called this building the house of artists, because it was inhabited by representatives of the cultural elite of the city and popular artists who became the pride and glory of Azerbaijan.

Second song. Ceyran

He really did have such a song in his repertoire. A popular song. But it seems that he composed it himself when he met the one he had been waiting for all his conscious life. That is to say until he was 40 year old. Not because he was so fastidious, but because an artist's life only seems to be full of romance and adventure. In fact, it is hard, daily work and constant travel. Not everyone is able to accept and endure a life on the go. Loss of domestic comfort is a serious test of strength, feeling and profession. But perhaps he was destined to settle in this house built in the form of a rectangle with a through passage from two opposing streets! Because, thanks to its architectural features, medical students always ran through the yard, going from one building to another between lectures. Since the buildings were situated in different parts of the city, they had to take a short cut in order to get to the trolleybus stop quickly, not to miss the next lecture. Now imagine the picture in the mid-1950s, with its internationalist atmosphere of trust, moral ideals and, as a precondition, the fashion of the time. It should be noted that Baku was always noted for its avant-garde attitude towards events in fashion, music, literature and later - in cinema. So, even people with average incomes managed to keep up with the mood of the time. 

But let's get back to the courtyard. We must say that the streets of Baku were never empty. It was always customary here to drink tea together, to share recipes and drop in to each other's homes - for no particular reason, just for a cup of tea and a pleasant conversation. Here people never ran out of interest in each other, and men never lost interest in the fair sex, of course! Therefore, young people, when at home, did not miss the opportunity to watch from their balconies the female students who ran through the yard. The girls knew this, of course, but always pretended that they did not. Modesty was honoured by Baku women. But youth and peaceful, happy life still prevailed. And of course, they knew that a popular and unmarried artist named Rasid Behbudov lived in this prestigious house! They knew that he was already a world-famous celebrity, and was even a friend of Raj Kapoor! They also knew that the two great artists were born on the same day - 14 December! Remember, dear reader, the popularity of Indian cinema in the Soviet Union! Do we need to say more? And most importantly, the bachelor was quite good-looking and had a marvellous and superb voice! He had that male charisma which always made him stand out in the general environment, making a man of medium height a significant and noticeable figure. Thus the Baku girls of marriageable age knew that Rasid watched them from the height of his balcony, sometimes through binoculars and, of course, seeing the glint of glass in the sun, each of them secretly hoped that she would be his choice... 

To be continued in the next issue