income. The practice of Chakan embroidery is passed down from one generation of women to the next, to ensure the practice continues to thrive. A craftswoman will pass down her knowledge to her daughter, granddaughter, and daughter-in-law. Chakan embroidery can also be learned in group settings from an expert craftswoman, referred to as the "ustod-shogird" or "master-student" method. In 2018, Chakan embroidery was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Music Traditional Tajik music is closely related to other Central Asian music forms. Shashmaqam is the predominant style of Tajik folk music, though falak is popular in southern Tajikistan. The Pamiris of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province have their own distinct style of music as well. Literature Traditional centers of Tajik literature were Samarkand and Bukhara, however these cities are now in Uzbekistan. In recent history, Tajik literature has been predominantly social realist. Though Tajiks do not draw a line, between their own literature and general Persian literature, there have been a few notable Tajik writers and poets. The standardization of the Tajik language has shaped Tajik literature in recent decades as well. Cultural revival One thousand years after the Samanid period, another cultural revival occurred; this time due to the Soviet's modern drama, opera, and ballet. Poets such as Mirzo Tursunzoda, Mirsaid Mirshakar, and Loik Sherali; novelist and historian Sadridin Aini, all figured prominently in this revival, as did professors M Ishoki and Osimi, scholar Sotim Ulughzoda, novelist Jalol Ikromi, and anthropologist and historian Bobojon Ghafurov. In 1969, Malika Sobirova won a gold medal in an international ballet competition. Since independence, there has been a pre-Soviet cultural revival in an attempt to foster a sense of national identity. Novelist Taimur Zulfikarov, and professors Rahim Masov and Bozor Sobir being prominent. Gallery See also Architecture of Central Asia Public holidays in Tajikistan Literature of Tajikistan Afghan culture Uzbek culture References External links Welcome to Tajikistan Miss United Nations Pageant CentralAsiaOnline Tojikfilm - history Encyclopedia of Soviet Cinema (Russian)