9.4 Personal Experiences - These Past Ten Years

Winter 2001 (9.4)
Page 27

Viewpoints
Personal Experiences - These Past Ten Years

Ismayil Mammadov Ismayil Mammadov
Let me tell you the difference between our generation and the generation growing up today. It relates to the economics of life. The most important things for us are not financial, but spiritual. So I think the values have changed.

Myself, I studied for 20 years. But today's generation says, "So what?" In their opinion, I gained nothing because I don't have a big house or a Mercedes. But what I have in my heart, they don't have.

So I would tell my grandchildren how values have changed during these ten years. I would advise them to enlarge their hearts, not their pockets. Money makes your hands dirty, but no one can take away that pure feeling in your heart. You can only take it and share it with others. And if you do art, this means that God has given you a special talent among the people. If you keep this power to yourself, it will die away. But if you transform it into something, and return it to thousands of people, it will live.

I think that not only the next ten years but for the next several decades, the main problem will be the purification of the heart and spirit. It hurts me that now there's a thing in Azerbaijan called "Wolves' Rules", which refers to the strong swallowing the weak. In order to fight it, people have to understand it within themselves. And I think that mainly depends on artistic people because throughout history, it's the artists who have led the people.

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From Azerbaijan International (9.4) Winter 2001.
© Azerbaijan International 2002. All rights reserved.