Kazakhs forget hardships to celebrate spring

By Maria Golovnina

KAZAKHSTAN, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - Life may be tough in some of the remotest corners of the vast Kazakh steppe, but once a year people put aside their hardships to celebrate Navruz, an ancient holiday marking the onset of spring.

The festival, seen as Central Asia's most sacred holiday dating back to the region's pre-Islamic heritage, is a vivid reminder to many Kazakhs of their centuries-old nomadic culture, all but forgotten by many under Soviet rule.

In a tiny village curiously called Kazakhstan -- a scattering of huts tucked in the foothills of the Tien-Shan mountains -- the celebrations eclipsed people's daily problems as they lost themselves in the chaos of Saturday's spring equinox festival.

"It's the beginning of new life," Amantai Mamyrov, a 67-year-old man clad in a festive blue-and-gold robe, as others danced, drank and ate the traditional "kozhe" milk soup to mark the renewal of nature following months of harsh winter.

"Unlike big cities, life is hard enough here but we always find time to celebrate."

With its old huts and no regular water supply, the village is a microcosm of modern-day Kazakhstan, torn apart by a growing gap between villagers such as Mamyrov, his lifestyle largely unchanged for decades, and the luxurious lives of the new rich.

Years of economic growth -- at about 10 percent a year since 2000 -- have transformed the Kazakh society, allowing many to buy expensive cars and apartments, and dotting its once dilapidated cities with glitzy shopping malls and skyscrapers.

But in places like the Kazakhstan village, 75 km (50 miles) east of financial capital Almaty, near the border with China, the spoils of new-found wealth are still little felt.