Hi Juan,
Did not mean to pre-empt you, but thought this piece from Khayyam (44) would be appropriate on the occasion of the Persian New Year (Nowruz) at the start of the spring season:
چون لاله بنوروز قدح گیر بدست
با لاله رخی اگر ترا فرصت هست
می نوش بخرمی که این چرخ کبود
ناگاه ترا چو باد گرداند پست
Raise your cups like tulips springing up at Nowruz.
Drink wine happily with a tulip-faced companion,
if you have a chance.
As this wheel of fortune, like a storm,
can knock you down in a flash.
Khayyam does have a number of godly quatrains, but this does not appear to be one of them. The bride of fate represents the much desired fortune that mankind is after. Khayyam asks her: “What dowry can I offer you to be mine”? She replies: “Your joyous heart is my dowry”. In other words, fortune belongs to the heart that is free of petty religious conflicts and whose creed is to drink wine and be happy.
Juan is using a more literal translation from the original Farsi, which rhymes "you and me" instead of "us". Also, what has been translated as bartender (for the lack of a better English word) is actually a pretty-looking and sometimes seductive hostess who goes around and fills up the wine cups. So, "you and me" is a more intimate expression compared to "us" which may include everyone else present in the tavern.
Human death and decent to earth – as opposed to rise to heavens – and his reincarnation into clay jugs (holding wine) is a common theme in Khayyam’s poetry. As if when he gets drunk, he can hear the jugs talking and telling him their life stories. Utterly beautiful!
Sanctions have been in place in one form or another since the 1979 Islamic revolution. In fact Iran’s justification for acquiring nuclear technology from the international “black market” was the embargo on nuclear technology imposed by the west. Under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, to which Iran is a signatory, the IAEA is committed to assist member states in developing peaceful nuclear programs. Iran was denied any such assistance. You could argue that they brought this upon themselves by taking American diplomats hostage in 1980, but then you would get yourself into a perpetual back-and-forth argument going back to the 1953 CIA-sponsored coup that reinstated the Shah!! The bottom line is there are no wining arguments here and picking a fight with Iran on such a lousy pretext would be far more reckless and destructive than what was done in Iraq.
Here are a few not necessarily great, but plausible, reasons for enduring sanctions:
- National pride
- Rounding up domestic support/rallying the troops/solidification of power
- Internal political rivalry preventing compromise (think Obama!)
- Profiteering from sanctions in the absence of foreign trade/competition
I think the first line needs to be emphasized here: "Between blasphemy and faith there is just a breath". It is again Khayyam pointing out the futility of religious observance and tells you not to waste your precious breath (i.e., life) on it.
Well, if you go by Whinfields's text, it is stated as "شراب" meaning wine. Mirage in Farsi is "سراب". Khayyam compares corpses washed away by the sea (river) to kabob washed down by wine.
There is certainly more than one way of reading Khayyam. It is called Īhām (artful punning) in Persian poetry and Khayyam was a master of it.
As for reciters of beautiful Persian poetry, I know a few who cannot "accelerate" all through the evening without their dose of wine. Cheers to them!
خيام اگر ز باده مستى خوش باش
با ماه رخى اگر نشستى خوش باش
چون عاقبت كار جهان نيستى است
انگار كه نيستى، چو هستى خوش باش
It is so true; " ... in soberness we worry about every little thing, but when we get stoned, anything goes"! Amazing that the concept has not changed in nearly a millennium.
Thanks for reminding us! I feel like going for a glass of wine after work ...
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Hi Juan,
Did not mean to pre-empt you, but thought this piece from Khayyam (44) would be appropriate on the occasion of the Persian New Year (Nowruz) at the start of the spring season:
چون لاله بنوروز قدح گیر بدست
با لاله رخی اگر ترا فرصت هست
می نوش بخرمی که این چرخ کبود
ناگاه ترا چو باد گرداند پست
Raise your cups like tulips springing up at Nowruz.
Drink wine happily with a tulip-faced companion,
if you have a chance.
As this wheel of fortune, like a storm,
can knock you down in a flash.
He did far better than the Secretary of State who issued a full Nowruz press statement without ever mentioning Iran or Iranians!
link to state.gov
Happy Nowruz!
I wonder how afraid Cheney will be of showing up on a Boston area college campus. Commencement speaker anyone?
Khayyam does have a number of godly quatrains, but this does not appear to be one of them. The bride of fate represents the much desired fortune that mankind is after. Khayyam asks her: “What dowry can I offer you to be mine”? She replies: “Your joyous heart is my dowry”. In other words, fortune belongs to the heart that is free of petty religious conflicts and whose creed is to drink wine and be happy.
It is a metaphor for fortune.
Juan is using a more literal translation from the original Farsi, which rhymes "you and me" instead of "us". Also, what has been translated as bartender (for the lack of a better English word) is actually a pretty-looking and sometimes seductive hostess who goes around and fills up the wine cups. So, "you and me" is a more intimate expression compared to "us" which may include everyone else present in the tavern.
Human death and decent to earth – as opposed to rise to heavens – and his reincarnation into clay jugs (holding wine) is a common theme in Khayyam’s poetry. As if when he gets drunk, he can hear the jugs talking and telling him their life stories. Utterly beautiful!
Sanctions have been in place in one form or another since the 1979 Islamic revolution. In fact Iran’s justification for acquiring nuclear technology from the international “black market” was the embargo on nuclear technology imposed by the west. Under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, to which Iran is a signatory, the IAEA is committed to assist member states in developing peaceful nuclear programs. Iran was denied any such assistance. You could argue that they brought this upon themselves by taking American diplomats hostage in 1980, but then you would get yourself into a perpetual back-and-forth argument going back to the 1953 CIA-sponsored coup that reinstated the Shah!! The bottom line is there are no wining arguments here and picking a fight with Iran on such a lousy pretext would be far more reckless and destructive than what was done in Iraq.
Here are a few not necessarily great, but plausible, reasons for enduring sanctions:
- National pride
- Rounding up domestic support/rallying the troops/solidification of power
- Internal political rivalry preventing compromise (think Obama!)
- Profiteering from sanctions in the absence of foreign trade/competition
Hi Juan,
Is this from Whinfield, as well? I cannot seem to be able to find it at the usual place online.
Thanks!
I think Khayyam would be more concerned about taverns closing on Sundays than anything else!
I think the first line needs to be emphasized here: "Between blasphemy and faith there is just a breath". It is again Khayyam pointing out the futility of religious observance and tells you not to waste your precious breath (i.e., life) on it.
Well, if you go by Whinfields's text, it is stated as "شراب" meaning wine. Mirage in Farsi is "سراب". Khayyam compares corpses washed away by the sea (river) to kabob washed down by wine.
There is certainly more than one way of reading Khayyam. It is called Īhām (artful punning) in Persian poetry and Khayyam was a master of it.
As for reciters of beautiful Persian poetry, I know a few who cannot "accelerate" all through the evening without their dose of wine. Cheers to them!
خيام اگر ز باده مستى خوش باش
با ماه رخى اگر نشستى خوش باش
چون عاقبت كار جهان نيستى است
انگار كه نيستى، چو هستى خوش باش
It is so true; " ... in soberness we worry about every little thing, but when we get stoned, anything goes"! Amazing that the concept has not changed in nearly a millennium.
Thanks for reminding us! I feel like going for a glass of wine after work ...
This is how I read the second part:
If you come looking for me on Resurrection Day,
Ask for me from the dust at the bar's doorstep ...