Best known in the west for Edward Fitzgerald’s translation of Omar Khayyam’s ‘The Rubaiyat’ , Omar Khayyam is perhaps better known for the development of our current calendar system , his mathematical prowess and astronomical intelligence.
I will never forget the awe, admiration and astonishment I felt when I first opened a copy of Fitzgerald’s translation of The Rubaiyat. Written in the style of 5 line quatrains, each short paragraph of poetry reveals the intricate nature of the human condition and the meaninglessness of our existence and the world around us. This sense of nihilistic futility immediately appealed to me , and as I turned each page in the corner of the library where I was sitting, I became enthralled and sucked into the 10th century mind of Omar Khayyam.
From that day onward I made it a chief aim to one day travel to the tomb of Omar Khayyam in Nishapur, Iran to pay my respects to this great man. That day came one day during the opening months of 2016, and I am please to upload some photos of his tomb in honour of this great man and the academic work involved by Edward Fitzgerald who spent literally his whole life time translating the Rubaiyat.
Enjoy.
Roberto
‘The moving finger writes, and having writ moves on,
Nor all thy piety or wit can lure it back to cancel half a line,
Nor all thy tears wash out a word of it’
Tis all a chequered board of nights and days,
with destinies men with pieces plays,
hither and tither moves , and mates ,
and slays, then one by one back in the closet lays.
There was a door to which I found no key:
There was a veil past which I could not see:
Some little talk a while of Me and Thee
There was – and then no more of Thee and Me.
The worldly hopes men set their hearts upon,
Turns ashes or it prospers – and anon
But like snow on the deserts dusty face,
Lightening! A little hour or two
Is gone.
A copy of Wordsworth Classics’ The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, translated by Edward Fitzgerald.
