The excerpt takes place in the Timurid era, in the time of Shohrux. After the architect Najmiddin Buxoriy’s only son Nizomiddin is executed for taking part in a plot against Shohrux, the architect returns from Herat to his native Bukhara with his wife Ma’suma beka and daughter Badia. With them go his pupils Zulfiqor and Zavrak, the coachman Horunbek and the rich man’s son G‘avvos Muhammad. Frightened in the desert, G‘avvos wants to turn back, but after the storm he fetches water from the river and kills a snake on the way, and so clears his name. During the storm the architect sees the shape of a great palace among the whirlwinds and sketches it in his notebook; crossing the Jayhun on a raft, they reach Movarounnahr.
Worked examples
Example: G‘avvos is first timid, then brave – a character is revealed through events.
Example: even in grief the architect does not lose his creative vision – this shows his nature as a builder.
Class activity
Describe G‘avvos Muhammad’s change in the excerpt in two stages (before, after) in two sentences.
Practice
1
Why does the architect leave Herat?
His only son Nizomiddin was executed for taking part in the plot against Shohrux, so he goes back to Bukhara.
2
Who sets out with the architect?
His wife, daughter Badia, pupils Zulfiqor and Zavrak, the coachman Horunbek and G‘avvos Muhammad.
3
What does the architect see during the storm?
The shape of a great palace among the whirlwinds; he sketches it in his notebook.
4
How does G‘avvos clear his name?
After his cowardice he bravely fetches water and kills a snake.