TEHRAN – “Water Urn” and a selection of “The Stories of Majid” by bestselling Iranian writer Hushang Moradi Kermani have been published in Bengali in Bangladesh.

“Water Urn” has been translated by Muhammad Mumit Al-Rashid, an assistant professor at the Department of Persian Language and Literature at the University of Dhaka, the writer told the Persian service of ISNA on Saturday.

Set in a two-room schoolhouse in mid-20th century Iran, “The Water Urn” is a heartwarming story about the daily misadventures and experiences of the village children and their beloved schoolmaster, Mr. Samadi.

It provides an inspiring look at provincial life in a quintessential Iranian village where survival means that all members of a community must learn to work together to achieve a common goal.

Muhammad Abdus Sabur Khan of the university is the translator of “The Stories of Majid”, which tells the story of an ambitious teenage boy, Majid, who lives with his grandma Bibi in the central Iranian city of Isfahan.

“The translator of ‘Water Urn’ told me that the book is about aridity and it has been published in a country that enjoys over 150 rivers and 500 water canals taking water to large and small villages. Many people are born, marry and live on boats,” Moradi Kermani said.

“I told him that sometimes, a story set in a village located in the desert is translated into different languages and moves to different regions of the world and this book is about a special geography facing aridity but it moves to countries where people live on rivers. The story acquaints readers with a special location, namely Iran,” he explained.

“Now, all the world talks about water. In the future, the world will enter wars over water, not oil and energy; for example, the recent clash between Iran and Afghanistan occurred over water,” he noted.

“Anyway, ‘Water Urn’ is about water scarcity and has been translated into 20 languages… it illustrates mankind’s critical condition on the globe, which is rooted in water shortage,” said 78-year-old Moradi Kermani, who is mostly known as a children’s writer, but his works also appeal to adults.

He is also the author of numerous bestsellers such as “You’re No Stranger Here” and “A Sweet Jam”. Most of his works have been translated into English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Arabic, Armenian, Turkish and several other languages.

Photo: A file photo shows Iranian writer Hushang Moradi Kermani (L) and Bangladeshi translator Muhammad Mumit Al-Rashid holding copies of the Bengali translation of “Water Urn” and “The Stories of Majid”.

MMS/YAW