A WILL THAT DID NOT COME TRUE

He must have picked up his love of freedom and pride from the places he was in love with. The place where he was born on 24 December 1939 - the village of Lacin in Kalbacar District - was located in the mountains. This small village taught Mammad Aslan to love nature and peace. He was made a poet by the mountains, ice fountains, flowering meadows, Kalbacar forests of enchanting beauty and his native village. He picked up love for poetry from his father Muxtar, who was an expert on classical literature and folklore. He also wrote poetry, but did not publish it.

Sons born in this family before Mammad Aslan did not live long. Relatives feared that he would suffer the same fate. They even asked an Iranian mullah, who was passing through Kalbacar, to help. Mammad Aslan himself talked about this story with a smile. And then he said with regret: "I suffered as much from this world as those nine brothers would have suffered." Two sisters - Aziza and Xublar (they had different mothers) worshipped him a lot. Actually, he was always lucky with love. Mammad Aslan was a man loved by all.

...Many trials and tribulations befell him. As a child, he had to endure separation. He lost his father, who was considered one of the most respected intellectuals in Kalbacar, very early. He spent his childhood at a hard military time. The wounds caused by the Great Patriotic War took a long time to heal, while hunger and poverty lingered on for many years after its end. But Mammad Aslan looked to the future with optimism, dreamt and indulged in illusions. Maybe the great lesson in life, which was obtained at the time, allowed him to find the strength to overcome all difficulties and adversities. He managed to survive and not to break down.

At school he studied with pleasure. The vibrant poetic environment of Kalbacar had a great influence on him. Then he began to write his first verses. In addition, he was good at painting. In an interview, Mammad Aslan said: "I learnt painting and poetry from the picturesque mountains and these slopes covered with lilac. As a young man, I arrived in Baku with a dream of becoming an artist. But the school of painting had no hostel, so I had to return to Kalbacar and continue my studies."

After graduating from high school with a silver medal, he went to Baku for higher education. In 1957 he entered the historical-philological faculty of Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute (now University). As a student, he became engaged in creative work with even greater pleasure. In 1960, Azarbaycan muallimi newspaper published his poem for the first time.

After completing his studies in 1962, Mammad Aslan was sent to his native Kalbacar District. He taught the Azerbaijani language and literature in schools in the villages of Yansaq and Istisu for a while. Interest in artistic work brought him to the office of the regional newspaper Yenilik, where he became executive secretary. Meanwhile, his poems and journalistic articles had already started appearing in various newspapers and magazines of the republic.

In January 1970, Mammad Aslan moved to Baku. Here he worked in various positions in the offices of Ulduz, Pioneer and Azarbaycan Tabiati magazines, Azarbaycan ganclari and Adabiyyat va Incasanat newspapers, and in the Yazici publishing house. From 1992 to 2010, he was chief editor of Ekran, Efir newspaper of Azerbaijan State Television. At the same time, he was the author and presenter of the programmes "Akil, Bakil qus idi" and "Daradan, tapadan". In recent years, Xazar TV aired his programme "Sozun ozu". For many years, on these programmes the poet promoted our language, national customs and traditions, and folklore. One of the greatest merits of Mammad Aslan in Azerbaijani literature was also his years of struggle in defence of the mother tongue. From the very beginning of his career, from the day he said that "he laid life for the word", he devoted himself to service to the word, poetry, our language and literature. He defended the simplicity and purity of the Azerbaijani language. He enriched it as a poet, writer and folklorist. He was also engaged in translations. From 1981, he was a member of the Writers' Union of Azerbaijan. During his artistic career, he won several international and national awards, became an honoured worker of culture of Azerbaijan and a holder of the Sohrat Order.

The first book of the poet was published in 1969. It was called "Dag Urayi" ("Mountain Heart") and entered into the series "The first book of the young poet". Later he published more than 50 collections of poems and journalistic works. Readers met his books "Dag Urayi", "Sahari Kim Acir", "Sasima Sas Ver", "Bizdan sonra na qalir", "Urak mohlat veraydi", "Dur-nalar lalak salir", "Erzurumun qadiyina varanda" and many others with interest. Mammad Aslan did not forget about painting either. He was the author of illustrations for his books.

... Mammad Aslan was in love with his homeland. On 20 January 1990, when Soviet troops staged a bloody massacre against unarmed people in Baku, he became one of those who boldly raised his voice of truth. On that day the whole country mourned the innocent victims in Azerbaijan. Even the carnations, in which their graves literally drowned and which covered the roads and pavements of the city, seemed to be crying. With the poem "Cry, carnation, cry" Mammad Aslan mourned the martyrs.

Unfortunately, the tragedy of 20 January was not the last for our people. In subsequent years, Azerbaijani lands were occupied by Armenian invaders.

From the first day of his literary work, Mammad Aslan glorified his homeland with great love. He described their beauty with charm. After these places fell under the heel of Armenian occupiers, a note of bitterness from separation appeared in Mammad Aslan's poems, which were full of love for the homeland. He regarded Kalbacar as a region of unprecedented beauty and an impregnable fortress. Although he lived in Baku, his heart was always in his native land. "We went to Kalbacar every year. And when I could not go, my heart was worried as I knew that I had a whole world there," the poet recalled. He experienced a lot of grief and saw a lot of injustice on this earth. Over time, the poet's health failed him as well. He was "friends" with diabetes for more than 30 years. Often he became a doctor for himself and tried to pacify the disease using different herbs.

The programme "Daradan-tapadan", which he hosted for 14 years, had a wide audience. This programme, which spoke about the history, culture and folklore of our people, was followed with interest in Turkey, Iran and Dagestan. Nevertheless, the programmme was closed and replaced with show programmes that flooded television screens. Mammad Aslan was really hurt by such an attitude to the programme that defended the purity of our language, enriched and promoted it.

The poet lived in Sumqayit. On the fifth floor. It was difficult for him to climb up the stairs with hurting legs. And the longing for the homeland took up the remaining forces, inexorably speeding up the end. In an apartment with a rich library, Mammad Aslan was like in another world.

He did not like to speak about his personal life. It is only known that the poet divorced his second wife too. This happened almost 30 years ago. Although love visited the poet many times, at the end of his life he was lonely. And he was used to living alone.

In recent years, he seemed offended by life. Mammad Aslan never ceased to believe that Kalbacar, where he grew up and which made him a poet, will be liberated. But he was scared by something else... "We will not retake that same Kalbacar, even if we retake hundred Kalbacars," the poet says in one of his poems.

"I meant that this remote district had its own elders and population that liked to enjoy life. Everyone always cared about each other. Now we are scattered in 50-60 districts of the country. Even after the liberation of Kalbacar, people will be different, and they will not return with the same morals. My health is already different. I'm ill. But most of all, I'm worried about Kalbacar and the decline of morality. Youth is changing, and it worried me very much. Since we left Kalbacar, a lot has changed. We have seen a lot. People are losing their morals and shame. Therefore, it becomes more difficult to live. We have lost a lot." He was also afraid to leave this world without seeing his native Kalbacar again. He did not want to depart this world without that...

He carried a heavy burden in his heart. The burden of separation... The biggest dream and the last wish of Mammad Aslan were to see his native places from the top of Murov. Over the years, this longing became more acute and unbearable. "Kalbacar is constantly before my eyes," he said. All hope to see my home and bow to it was like a dream. But in the end, it betrayed the poet too. He could not sleep.

His eyes searched for mountains like the mountains in Kalbacar, mountain plateaus like those left at home. In summer, he rested and received treatment in Zaqatala. He was looked after by his daughter Tabriza and her husband. In them and in his grandchildren Firuz and Mammad Kamal, the poet found solace.

Mammad Aslan died on 23 September 2015. He was buried at the Masazir cemetery in Baku. Mammad Aslan left his will in verses too. "Sprinkle Kalbacar soil on my eyes," he asked. But the will was not to fated to come true...