By Irina Sviridenkova
Preparations are well underway to welcome guests and participants at the highest level. Over 2,000 people are likely to gather from all over the country, as well as from the CIS and beyond.
Oleg Morkhat, the Chairman of the Glubokoe District Executive Committee, tells us, “The Glubokoe District is known for its spirituality, with 37 religious communities operating, in addition to 32 churches (19 are Orthodox and 12 Catholic). We can now admire cathedrals erected centuries ago.”
Glubokoe is a hive of construction, beautification, cleaning and repairs, shining not only with newly-laid pavements and renewed facades but with its spirituality. As is traditional, the holiday is hosted by towns which are historical centres of culture, science, literature and book printing. In this respect, Glubokoe is rich in history.
“The Glubokoe District is home to many prominent people, including Pavel Sukhoy, an outstanding aircraft designer, and Eliezer Ben-Yehuda (Perelman) who reformed the Jewish language to become the state language of Israel. Moreover, folklore researcher and artist Yazep Drozdovich resided and worked here, as did the founder of Belarusian theatre, Ignaty Buinitsky, and patron of arts Iosif Korsak, who helped build churches in the 17th century. These included Glubokoe’s two major sites: the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God Cathedral and the Holy Trinity Catholic Church. We can read about these people in books and documents but their names aren’t indicated vividly. Residents, as well as guests and tourists (whose number may reach 40,000 per year) could be more aware of them, so we are unveiling eight bronze busts to our prominent fellow countrymen on the eve of the Day of Belarusian Written Language,” explains Mr. Morkhat.
Another surprise for residents and guests of the holiday is a sculptural composition entitled Paulinka, which is modelled on Honoured Figure of Culture Pavlina Myadelka. She grew up in the Glubokoe District and was the first to play Paulinka in Yanka Kupala’s play of the same title. The sculpture shows a Belarusian young girl in national dress, wearing a headdress of meadow grass, walking under a bridge with full buckets of water — a sign of hospitability. A rainbow and stork are above — the bird being a symbol of revival, purity and nobility. The roots of trees, symbolising ties with earth, family and homeland, form the foundation of the sculpture.
The sculpture of Paulinka symbolises hopes for the future while remembering the past and is perfect for Glubokoe: a contemporary developing town which honours an almost 600 year old history.
