A Day in Rostamabad

"Slowly, with the turning of time, I have figured out that that which they call happiness, beyond ordinary pleasures, is a cloak which only the needle of goodness and service and with the thread of compassion and care for God's creation can be sewn."

Many people spend their lives working to attain that which makes them happy or what they believe makes them happy. Constance Bobroff has taken an Iranian short story by Mohammad-Ali Jamalade and made it available on-line in both Persian and English. "A Day in Rostamabad of Shemiran" is the story of a traveler who upon entering the town of Rostamabad is confronted with two distinct paths to happiness epitomized in two of the narrator's boyhood friends. One brother has chosen to enjoy his life, marry, raise his children, and share his wealth with his friends. The other brother has chosen isolation, buried deep with books and philosophy. Each of the brothers ask for the narrator's approval in the path they chose for their happiness. The narrator tells both men they have chosen well. After departing their home he is troubled by his response and questions whether one path is better than the other. The story is a morality, one that arrives at a profound answer to the narrator's quandary. What makes the story appealing is the immersion of the reader in Iranian culture. The respect and hospitatlity that is apart of the language and social mores are expressed both in the narrator's description of his travels and his interactions with characters of the story.

The website is truly astounding in terms of detail and interactivity available to the reader, either as a student or interested bibliophile. Ms. Bobroff translated the story in a strict word for word translation to aid students of the Persian language. There are also links for an audio reading of the work, hand written lines of the text, and dramatic readings of the poetry found with in the story. The web page allows the reader to glimpse the art and craft behind translating literature.

"I remember thinking, ‘This story is too good to lie unopened on library shelves collecting dust,’” recalls Bobroff. “This is a make-you-feel-good story about Iran. It is in the wandering scholar style and is also a mystical journey of self discovery. It’s very Persian, yet very universal." ( A& S Perspectives, "A Persian Story Word by Word")

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