{"id":2469,"date":"2019-06-06T20:09:05","date_gmt":"2019-06-06T14:39:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/?p=2469"},"modified":"2019-06-09T17:25:58","modified_gmt":"2019-06-09T11:55:58","slug":"my-grandparents-rubaiyat-of-omar-khayyam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/my-grandparents-rubaiyat-of-omar-khayyam\/","title":{"rendered":"My grandparents&#8217; &#8216;Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p style=\"text-align:center\"><strong>TEXT &amp; PHOTOGRAPHS BY MADHURA BANERJEE <br><em>Kolkata, West Bengal <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018Back in our time, gifting books to the\nbride and groom on their wedding was very common,\u2019 my grandmother said. As she\nsaid this, I thought back to the weddings we had attended in the past few\nyears. Clothes, cash, cutlery \u2013 this alliteration summarized the spectrum of\nwedding gift possibilities. Perhaps it wasn\u2019t just the passing of time but also\nthe finality of a lost tradition that left its footprints in the worn-out pages\nof the \u201cRubaiyat of Omar Khayyam\u201d, presented to my grandparents on their\nwedding in the year 1966. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Omar Khayyam composed this collection of four-line stanza poems, or <em>rubai, <\/em>as they are known in Farsi, sometime between the late eleventh century to early twelfth century, before he died in 1131. History further made itself known in a personal and intimate way as I read the Bengali inscription on the first page \u2013 <em>\u201cTo Priti and Dilip Bandopadhyay \u2013 on their wedding, 6.6.66\u201d.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190529_191140-01-x-2-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"2474\" data-link=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/?attachment_id=2474\" class=\"wp-image-2474\" srcset=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190529_191140-01-x-2-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190529_191140-01-x-2-450x600.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption>The front cover <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190526_113319-01-1-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"2486\" data-link=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/?attachment_id=2486\" class=\"wp-image-2486\" srcset=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190526_113319-01-1-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190526_113319-01-1-450x600.jpeg 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption>The inscription<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"803\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190529_232738-01-1-803x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"2487\" data-link=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/?attachment_id=2487\" class=\"wp-image-2487\" srcset=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190529_232738-01-1-803x1024.jpeg 803w, https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190529_232738-01-1-470x600.jpeg 470w, https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190529_232738-01-1-768x980.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 803px) 100vw, 803px\" \/><figcaption>Priti and Dilip Bandopadhyay<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I discovered it the way you\u2019re supposed to discover treasures \u2013 buried underneath decades of dust. It was tucked deep into the bookshelf, a time-telling machine, measuring its units by an ever growing pile of books. But what made this particular book one-of-a-kind discovery was the fact that it had been fully translated to Bengali by poet Narendra Dev, father of the beloved Bengali author Nabaneeta Dev Sen. Each of the four-line quatrains have been translated from Persian to Bengali, keeping intact the rhyme scheme and essence of the verses. Sometimes, the rich imagery of moonlit minars and Sultani palaces, which are usually meant to conjure flavours of Sufism and Urdu <em>shayaris,<\/em> are so well contained in the translations, that it makes me forget that I am reading the verses in Bengali.&nbsp; At other times, the universality of love, pain and suffering in the lines makes me forget that I am reading about a time, place and in a language originally so far from my own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018June 4th,\u2019 my grandmother reminisced her wedding day, \u2018a day on which it rained heavily\u2019 \u2013 as she slowly glued back the book\u2019s dwindling bindings with her own fingers, rebuilding history. Bengali weddings are celebrated in two halves \u2013 the second day, called <em>Bou-Bhaat<\/em>, separated by one day. The inscription by my grandparents\u2019 friend bears the date of the second day \u2013 June 6th, 1966. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-gallery aligncenter columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190526_114747-01-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"Priti Bandopadhyay reading the Rubaiyat in Bangla\" data-id=\"2481\" data-link=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/my-grandparents-rubaiyat-of-omar-khayyam\/20190526_114747-01\/\" class=\"wp-image-2481\"\/><figcaption>Priti Bandopadhyay reading the Rubaiyat in Bangla<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other than the vivid imagery evoked by the words themselves, the book is full of vibrant illustrations by Purnajyoti Bhattacharya. There are full-page paintings of scenes inspired by the poems. Most of the recurring images have an aged man in a flowing <em>shalwar<\/em> and cummerbund, locked in a romantic sojourn with a young woman dressed equally lavishly. In one, they are leaning into each other under a tree. In another, the man listens intently as the woman plucks the strings of a <em>rabab<\/em>, a bowl full of fruit and goblets of wine before them. The other paintings include the poet gesturing to rain-clouds. Much of the verses and paintings have brought together the night sky, with its moons and stars, and the landscape of human emotions changing from suffering to ecstasy, from rage to longing. This, I believe, speaks greatly of the nature of Omar Khayyam, who was both a poet and as astronomer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the illustration for the poem <em>Bhor\u2019er Pakhi (Bird of Dawn)<\/em>, the\nartist, probably recalling this link between poetry and astronomy, gorgeously\npainted glowing sequins on the people\u2019s vests and veils, their clothes\nimitating the stars in the sky. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even though the pages have weathered into their yellowed inevitability, the letters and sketches have retained their crisp timelessness. A total of three hundred and ten poems have been separated into different sections, titled <em>Abhiyog (Accusation), Bidroop (Ridicule), Prem (Love), Saundarya (Beauty)<\/em>, and <em>Dharma (Religion)<\/em>. Each page contains four poems with two small sketches, changing colours with the emotions of the stanzas. Sketches accompanying poems about the lover\u2019s muse are in green, those about loss and yearning, a turquoise blue, expressions of religion and philosophy, in red. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-4 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190526_114351-01-1-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"2482\" data-link=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/?attachment_id=2482\" class=\"wp-image-2482\" srcset=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190526_114351-01-1-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190526_114351-01-1-600x450.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190526_114351-01-1-768x576.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190526_114340-01-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"2483\" data-link=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/?attachment_id=2483\" class=\"wp-image-2483\" srcset=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190526_114340-01-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190526_114340-01-600x450.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190526_114340-01-768x576.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes, when I fall asleep with the book in my arms, I inhale the aroma of its frayed edges. That one, particular time-travelling fragrance of old books that take me back to my school libraries and old book shops of College Street \u2013 probably the place from where my grandparents\u2019 friend had purchased the book for only seven rupees. I wonder about the significance of the book pulling me back in time \u2013 if I\u2019m transported into the past, am I not brought closer to the poet? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking about making connections with\nthe greats, Narendra Dev, with a whole-hearted message at the start of the book,\ndedicated it to Rabindranath Tagore. In his words, it was his attempt at\ndelivering \u2018\u201ca few drops of nectar from Omar Khayyam\u2019s ambrosia-palette\u2019\u201d, to\nTagore, on the Bard of Bengal\u2019s sixty-fifth birthday on 8th May 1926 \u2013 a day we\nBengalis, each year, bookmark as Panchise Baishakh, and celebrate, with song\nand dance, as Rabindra Jayanti. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This book seemed to have unearthed a new memory, a new way to preserve my grandfather\u2019s presence, whom we lost almost four years ago. The book\u2019s front and back covers bear images of a woman\u2019s gaze, a wine goblet and minars of an ornate palace. They capture the internal themes of the book as far as my grandparents\u2019 wedding could have summarised their life ahead. Both are composed of finer verses, and require deeper introspection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-5 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190526_114239-01-1-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"2490\" data-link=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/?attachment_id=2490\" class=\"wp-image-2490\" srcset=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190526_114239-01-1-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190526_114239-01-1-450x600.jpeg 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190529_191157-01-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"2491\" data-link=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/?attachment_id=2491\" class=\"wp-image-2491\" srcset=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190529_191157-01-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190529_191157-01-450x600.jpeg 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190529_191337-01-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"2492\" data-link=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/?attachment_id=2492\" class=\"wp-image-2492\" srcset=\"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190529_191337-01-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190529_191337-01-450x600.jpeg 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Omar Khayyam composed this collection of four-line stanza poems, or rubai, as they are known in Farsi, sometime between the late eleventh century to early twelfth century, before he died in 1131. History further made itself known in a personal and intimate way as I read the Bengali inscription on the first page \u2013 \u201cTo Priti and Dilip Bandopadhyay \u2013 on their wedding, 6.6.66\u201d. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2472,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,8],"tags":[66,295,70,406,35,393,404,43,405,407,45],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2469"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2499,"href":"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469\/revisions\/2499"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}