Kozimnin karasy

About this piece

Kozimnin Karasy is a poem and song by the great poet Abai Kunanbaiuly, written in 1891 — the year recorded in the Mursseit manuscripts.

The phrase kozimnin karasy means more than the pupil of the eye: it conveys the poet’s inner world, his intent gaze and deep feeling. Some scholars read the work as love lyric, others also as an expression of a parent’s love for a child.

Abai composed the melody himself. It spread widely and became one of the best-loved Kazakh songs. The piece is built of short stanzas that carry sincere feeling and considered thought in a compact form.

On the dombra it is played as a song: the syllables of the text appear under the notes in the tablature, so you can play and sing at the same time.