TEHRAN – The Iranian Society of Cultural Works and Luminaries held a webinar on Wednesday to commemorate Ferdowsi Day, which falls on May 15, 2020.

A number of literati, including Hassan Bolkhari, Mir Jalaleddin Kazzazi, Ali Ravaqi and Vahidreza Qorbani, delivered speeches during the webinar.

In a statement published on Wednesday, Book City Institute deputy director Ali-Asghar Mohammadkhani also extended his congratulations for Ferdowsi Day.

He called Ferdowsi’s masterpiece Shahnameh the most precious and valuable document of the Persian language, and the brightest evidence of the glory of Persian culture and civilization.

The Shahnameh, which is known as the “Book of Kings” in English, is the celebrated work of the epic poet Ferdowsi, in which the Persian national epic found its final and enduring form. It was completed in 1010.

He said that Ferdowsi Day is the best day to review and study the Shahnameh.

“The Shahnameh is no doubt the most significant epic masterpiece in the world, it is a book of life, which teaches nobility and politeness, as well as wisdom, happiness and moderation,” he asserted.

In addition, IRIB Channel 4 aired a documentary named “The Best Verse of Poets” to celebrate Fedowsi Day.

Directed by Dariush Yari, the documentary explores why Ferdowsi chose the epic genre to narrate the stories of the kings in the Shahnameh.

The documentary also features speeches by several experts on the Shahnameh and showed performances of naqqali, a dramatic style of storytelling dedicated to stories from Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh and other epic Persian stories.

Photo: A view of the mausoleum of Ferdowsi in Tus, Khorasan Razavi Province.

RM/MMS/YAW