TEMPLE PONDS OF KERALA

 KAZAKHSTAN – THROUGH TEN MONUMENTS OF ALMATY – II

In the first part of this post on exploring Almaty by foot, I introduced you to the nomadic origins of Kazakh civilisation, the Soviet influences and the uprising that led to breaking free from the shackles. Let’s continue…..

Raiymbek – The Holy Warrior

I go back to the hoary past by diving deep into the bowels of Almaty city. Almaty has just a single Metro line with 11 stations and a flat fare of 120 Tenge (Rupees 20). The Abay Metro station is really deep at 78 metres. The escalator ride to reach the platform took me 100 seconds. It is deeper than the deepest London Underground station. For the record, the deepest Metro station is in Kyiv at a depth of 105.5 m.

Raiymbek Batyr, the terminal Metro station is just 2 stops from Abay. Half a kilometre from the Metro station is the commanding equestrian statue of Raiymbek. To understand Raiymbek, you need to go back in history to the 17^th to mid-18^th Century, when the Dzungars, a confederation of Western Mongol tribes, dominated Central Asia. They followed Tibetan Buddhism. They repeatedly invaded the Kazakh lands, culminating in the “Great Disaster” (1723-1727) marked by the “barefooted flight” of the Kazakh people. In 1729, the different Kazakh zhuzes (hordes) united and rallied under a common banner to defeat the Dzungars. Raiymbek was the Kazakh commander in the decisive Battle of Añyraqai that took place in the present Almaty region. This war is regarded as a decisive victory of Islam over Buddhism and earned Raiymbek a cult status as “auliye” (holy protector). His mausoleum, 3 kms away on the opposite side of the Metro Station, is a place of pilgrimage even today.

Tokash Bokin - The Firebrand Martyr

I dived down again into the Raiymbek Metro and surfaced one stop later at Zhibek Zholy. About 500 m along the Gogol Street (after the famous Russian writer) brought me to the curious statue of Tokash Bokin. Curious because the bust seamlessly fuses with the tall pedestal

Tokash Bokin, a Kazakh revolutionary from a humble herder’s family, emerged as a key Bolshevik organizer in Verny—today’s Almaty—during the turbulence of the Russian Civil War. Captured by the White Guards, the anti-Bolshevik forces resisting revolutionary change, Bokin was executed in 1919, becoming one of the early Kazakh martyrs celebrated in Soviet memory. Verny itself carries the imprint of empire: founded in 1854 as a Russian military fort, its name—meaning “faithful”—symbolised loyalty to the Tsar. In 1921, the city reclaimed its local identity as Alma-Ata, later Almaty, reconnecting to its Kazakh roots.

So, what does the sculptor want to convey through his intriguing design? My take is Bokin’s rise from humble origins. 

Shokan Valikhanov – The Great Gamer

A 20-minute walk later I am standing before the statue of a man, who looks every inch an academic, holding a book in one hand and the other on his chin in a pensive mood. It is hard to believe that he was an intrepid explorer who integrated gathering military intelligence into his work. He had the talent to blend scholarly pursuits with espionage. He played an important part in The Great Game, the intense 19^th C rivalry between the British and Russian empires for influence and control in Central Asia. The scientific precision with which he documented his topographic and ethnographic observations won him many laurels including membership of the Russian Geographical Society. But I still find it intriguing that the Kazakhstan Academy of Sciences has been named after him, because he was not a scientist in the classical sense. Shokan died young, barely 29. The imposing building of the Academy looms large right in front of his statue across the road. 

Kurmangazy – The Rebel Hero

I stumbled upon the statue of Kurmangazy accidentally in an alley. He was not on my itinerary and I thank Serendipity for introducing me to this folk hero of Kazakhstan. Kurmangazy was a virtuoso dombra player who used his gift as a voice for the poor and the marginalised. Living through much of the 19^th C, his dombra raised the voice of the oppressed peasants against the Tsars. His music expressed the longing for freedom and resistance to injustice. He was repeatedly persecuted and imprisoned for championing the cause of the poor, yet was never silenced. The Kazakh National Conservatory is named after him. 

Mukan Tulebaev – The Composer

Let me end this walking tour on a stirring musical note. Mukan is a celebrated Kazakh composer who fused folk melodies with European symphonic and operatic forms. Widely regarded as the father of the Kazakh national music, he also co-authored the anthem of the Kazakh SSR, thereby contributing to the Soviet propaganda. He was among the first to set Abay’s poetry and very befittingly his statue stands at the intersection of the street named after him with Abay Avenue. UNESCO named 2013 as “Year of Tulebaev”, recognising him as the cultural ambassador of the Turkic world. 

This exploration of Almaty mostly on foot was self-guided using a leaflet I chanced upon in my hotel foyer. This unexpected serendipity paid rich dividends and opened my eyes to different facets of Kazakh history and culture. Almaty is an extremely pedestrian-friendly city. So, go ahead and chart your own walk through history.