Grandpa
It was at age 70 that grandpa moved from Ameeraabaad in Tehran to Brentwood, CA and had his first medical checkup in Aamreekaa. 1-2 packs?? Asked the flabbergasted doctor and continued. “And for how many years?” …. “What is 73 minus 17?” the doctor gasped: Low tar? yanee cheh? (What does that mean?) addressing his son, also a doctor, who duly translates. All I know is that they are Zarr’s like full flavor Camels. “Say no more my dear friend, it is either cigarettes or your life, your time with your family, children, and grandchildren. Grandpa decided to never light up again…Yek-baar-e-guee
Stanford
Shattered by the news of his son’s death, the iconic railroad tycoon brimming with wealth declared “Now all children of California are my children”. Yek-baar-e-guee. And the greatest education institution known to mankind ensued.
The Bat
A bat like figure blocked the passage. It was a man holding up his black cloak. And with the might of an eagle preying on small fish, he asked the master a question, a tricky one. The entourage reached for their daggers asking themselves ‘Who would ever dare look the master in the eyes?’ Dumbfounded by the question, the master signaled the entourage to relax and with royal confidence said to the inquisitor. “ We continue the discussion in the morning.” On the 60th day, Rumi Yek-baar-e-guee busted out of the house whirling in the streets and shouting poetic verses as though possessed.
Let’s Play
Here is a little exercise playing with words, translations, and a pYou may be able to read your first Rumi poem in Farsi right now. Yek-baar-e-guee
In three three-hour sessions we invite the impossible to show some flex again. That is to take the English speaking to the cusp of wonder itself and let you enter. The workshop is a concoction of playing with translation methods, creating context around untranslatable words, playing with beats and rhymes and slowly getting soaked in the message of love, one rain drop at a time. With special thanks to Rumi and Shams-e Tabreezee.