INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
TEHRAN – “Water Urn” and a selection of “The Stories of Majid” by bestselling Iranian writer Hushang Moradi Kermani have been
published in Bengali in Bangladesh.“Water Urn” has been translated by Muhammad Mumit Al-Rashid, an assistant professor at the Department
of Persian Language and Literature at the University of Dhaka, the writer told the Persian service of ISNA on Saturday.Set in a two-room
schoolhouse in mid-20th century Iran, “The Water Urn” is a heartwarming story about the daily misadventures and experiences of the
village children and their beloved schoolmaster, Mr
Samadi.It provides an inspiring look at provincial life in a quintessential Iranian village where survival means that all members of a
community must learn to work together to achieve a common goal.Muhammad Abdus Sabur Khan of the university is the translator of “The
Stories of Majid”, which tells the story of an ambitious teenage boy, Majid, who lives with his grandma Bibi in the central Iranian city
of Isfahan.“The translator of ‘Water Urn’ told me that the book is about aridity and it has been published in a country that enjoys
over 150 rivers and 500 water canals taking water to large and small villages
Many people are born, marry and live on boats,” Moradi Kermani said.“I told him that sometimes, a story set in a village located in the
desert is translated into different languages and moves to different regions of the world and this book is about a special geography facing
aridity but it moves to countries where people live on rivers
The story acquaints readers with a special location, namely Iran,” he explained.“Now, all the world talks about water
In the future, the world will enter wars over water, not oil and energy; for example, the recent clash between Iran and Afghanistan occurred
over water,” he noted.“Anyway, ‘Water Urn’ is about water scarcity and has been translated into 20 languages… it illustrates
mankind’s critical condition on the globe, which is rooted in water shortage,” said 78-year-old Moradi Kermani, who is mostly known as a
children’s writer, but his works also appeal to adults.He is also the author of numerous bestsellers such as “You’re No Stranger
Most of his works have been translated into English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Arabic, Armenian, Turkish and several other
languages.Photo: A file photo shows Iranian writer Hushang Moradi Kermani (L) and Bangladeshi translator Muhammad Mumit Al-Rashid holding
copies of the Bengali translation of “Water Urn” and “The Stories of Majid”.MMS/YAW
