TEHRAN – Stories from Persian poet Sheikh Muslih od-Din Sadi Shirazi’s masterpiece Gulistan (The Rose Garden) have been published for children in Russian in Moscow.

The collection entitled “Halva and Rainbow” has been released by Sadra Books in collaboration with the Ibn Sina Foundation and Khayyam Cultural Center, the publisher has announced.

Stories selected and streamlined by Iranian children’s writer Farhad Hassanzadeh have been translated into Russian by Svetlana Tarasova. 

The collection, which contains 18 stories, has been edited by Professor Natalya Prigarina of the Department of Oriental Written Sources at the Journal of the Institute of Oriental Studies.

As one of the greatest figures of classical Persian literature who lived during the 13th century CE, Sadi is famous worldwide for his Bustan (The Orchard) and Gulistan (The Rose Garden), which have been translated into many languages.

“Halva and Rainbow” is the second book of Sadra Books’ series “Persian Tales”. 

Published in early 2021, the first book “What Do You Call the Grape?” contains parables by Persian mystic and poet Molana Jalal ad-Din Rumi.

This book has been translated into Russian by Natalia Chalisova, a professor of Persian literature at the Institute of Oriental and Classical Studies at the Russian State University for Humanities in Moscow.

Prigarina and Tarasova are the editors of this book, whose stories have been selected and streamlined for children by Hossein Fattahi.

Sadra Books has previously collaborated with some Iranian culture centers.

The Iranian Poetry and Fiction Foundation announced earlier in May 2019 Sadra’s plans to publish one book by a contemporary Persian author in Russian every year based on an agreement with the foundation.

According to the deal, the publisher would select the book from among winners at the Jalal Al-e Ahmad Literary Awards, Iran’s most lucrative literary prize.

Sadra has previously published many books by Iranian writers, including the children’s book “The Prophet and His Stories” by Gholamreza Heidari Abhari that carries short stories on Prophet Muhammad (S), which was published in 2017.

Photo: Cover of “Halva and Rainbow”, a collection containing the Russian translation of stories from Persian poet Sadi’s masterpiece Gulistan.

MMS/YAW