TEHRAN – Iranian writer Mohammadreza Sarshar’s “The Ladder to the World” (“La Escalera del Mundo”), which presents a beautiful narration about the creation of the universe for young adults, has been published in Spanish.

The El Faro International Publishing House has published the book in collaboration with Sureh-Mehr, the publisher of the original book.

Sarshar, Several managers of El Faro and Sureh-Mehr, Cuban Ambassador Alexis Bandrich Vega and Bolivian Ambassador Romina Guadalupe attended a session organized on Saturday at the Mehr News Agency in Tehran to introduce the Spanish translation of the book.   

In this book, Sarshar tells a story from his youth when his grandfather left behind nothing for his heirs except a heavy box full of old historical books, which sank into oblivion as it was consigned to the basement of the house. 

The grandfather was also forgotten a few years after his death. However, one night, Sarshar dreamed that his grandpa was annoyed with the situation and was searching for his old box of books in the basement.

Sarshar sought to solve the puzzle of the dream. Therefore, he brought out the heavy box with the help of his mother and brother. Inside, he found an old, dilapidated, small, coverless manuscript.   

Reading the story in the manuscript for the first time, he realized that it would still be attractive for young adults. After further consideration, he decided that teens should read this story, for it told how the universe was created; the story of how water, man, mounts, animals, etc. were created and how God controls the whole universe.

Sarshar streamlined the narrative of the manuscript in a new book entitled “Ladder to the World” that Sureh-Mehr published in 2009.

The Persian book has been republished several times. Early editions were embellished with illustrations by Parviz Mahallati and the new editions were illustrated by Mansureh Mohammadi.

68-year-old Sarshar, who is also known as Reza Rahgozar, has written about 30 books, whose target audience is mainly children and young adults. Most of his books feature stories written based on Islamic teachings.

He is the author of “If Dad Dies”, “Rooster and the King”, “A Rope of Fire”, “Tiger Tales”, “Everybody Chanted Down with the Shah”, “Our Sad Stories” and several other books.

Sarshar worked for Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) as a storyteller on the program “A Story for Friday Noon”, which was aired on the radio every Friday during the 1980s. 

The IRIB organized a ceremony in July 2006 to celebrate Sarshar for his achievements. The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei sent a message to the ceremony that read, “The revolution’s fiction stories are greatly indebted to Mr. Sarshar.”

Photo: Writer Mohammadreza Sarshar (5th L), some El Faro and Sureh-Mehr managers and the Bolivian and Cuban envoys in Tehran attend a session at the MNA office on November 13, 2021 to unveil the Spanish translation of “Ladder to the World”. (Mehr/Ali Haddadi-Asl)    

MMS/YAW