One year has passed since the death of Professor Iraj Kaboli. These days and in the years that have passed, death from the corona pandemic has been so frequent that the sad occurrence of deaths has become perhaps a daily news. Every day, the death bell is heard, bringing grief and bitterness to hearts and souls. Do we have any choice but to accept and forget the frequent news of death, these days? But, from among these news the death of Iraj Kaboli cannot be forgotten.
He was truly unique in his work and his expertise, and his absence is certainly a blow to our community and our culture. Hence, in the past year, we have never stopped missing him and mourning his death.
Years of Iraj Kaboli’s life
Iraj Kaboli was born in Kerman to a Zoroastrian Family, on April 12 1938. For his education he went to Tehran and spent his high school years in Alborz High School. Having great talents, he chose architecture as his major in the university. However, all along he knew that his desire and eagerness was to do research in the Persian language and script. From then onwards he put his scientific and intellectual efforts into the knowledge of linguistics and prosody. He introduced new methods for prosody rhythm, and also translation from English and Russian into Persian. He gave important suggests about new methods for Persian calligraphy and cooperated closely with members of the council for editing Persian scripts (of which prof Kaboli himself was one of the founders). In this field he took valuable steps and left a lasting name of himself.
He was a member of the Writers’ Association of Iran and had a close friendship with Ahmad Shamloo. Shamloo was the first one to support Prof Kaboli’s proposal about editing the Persian script. He was half-way in the translation of a novel named “Quiet flows the Don” by Mikhail Sholokhov, when he heard that Shamloo was also translating the same book. He immediately abandoned his half-finished translation in favor of his friend Shamloo. This sort of selflessness is an example of his big heart.
Finally, on February 17, 2021, Professor Iraj Kaboli passed away. Shortly after his death, Ketabak website wrote: “Prof Iraj Kaboli died. He was one of the leaders in the evolution of the Persian script and for teaching children and adults, and all Persian speaking people. Prof Kaboli was one of the outstanding educators of the logical extension of the evolution of Persian script from the constitutional period upto this date. He has worked harder than anyone else to transform the Persian script in education in the last four decades. “His values in this area were not well known during his lifetime. Perhaps his role will be better known in the future.”
An easy method for writing Persian
In August 1992 Iraj Kaboli published an article in “Adineh” magazine, one of Iran’s most reveling publications. This article was a call to all Persian speaking people, and it listed the difficulties and suggested ways to correct the Persian script. The first person to support Kaboli’s invitation and suggestions was Ahmad Shamloo.
A year later the “Persian writing and calligraphy review” council was established with participation of several prominent scholars and those familiar with Persian language issues. They were trying to find a way out of the difficulties of the Persian script. A year later, the council’s secretary reported on the council’s one-year work. The report said: “The main purpose of reviewing the way Persian script is written is to achieve a method that makes it easier to read and write Persian with the help of practical tests.” Professor Kaboli was one of the members of this council, and until the last breath of his life, he worked on correct reading and writing the Persian language, and achieved important results.
Kaboli was looking for a way to help us read and write Persian correctly. He proposed a method which he called “Persian script” or “auxiliary writing”. In an interview Kaboli had said: “We have named this method of writing “auxiliary writing”, not a substitute writing style. Please note that there has never been the claim for replacing the current writing style. Now, how is this auxiliary writing helping us? We have a non-Persian word or an alien and unfamiliar word that no one can understand if it is written in the ordinary alphabet. What we are suggesting is a script that makes difficult words easy to pronounce.”
Then he added: “This script is not a substitute. Why? At the beginning of our call we mentioned that this an auxiliary script derived from the Persian alphabet. Who will this script help? It’s clear; those who have problem in writing words and are not sure that the reader can read those words. How much this method can expand? It depends on the potential that lies in this script.”
Persian script is a mediating script for all Persian speakers (Iranians, Afghans, and Tajiks). With the help of this script as they are spoken and read as they are written. What we want to do is to give this project to the next person to continue. I do not know how long more I will live. I do not believe that this “Persian script” problems will end with me; it has just started, like all other works.”
Kaboli suggests for correct writing and correct reading, You have the following suggestions:
- “We make reading and writing easier, especially in the literacy classes
- Preventing words from being read in an incorrect way
- Achieving a standard writing style and also achieving the correct phonetic structure and Persian grammar
Talking about the effective method that Iraj Kaboli has proposed for correct reading and writing of the Persian language is not possible here. It is necessary to refer to his writing and explanations of those who have referred to his writings. Let us suffice here to say that the method that Kaboli suggested will make reading and writing Persian very simple.
Some of Iran Kaboli’s works
Iraj Kaboli has left behind works that show his mastery of the Persian language and his extensive knowledge of the English and Russian language. Prof kaboli’s translation from Russian are good examples of his translations into Persian. Some of Kabul’s published books are Weightlifting and Prose (1997), translation of the book “Discovering Khuzestan” (2003), “Persian orthography” (2005), and “Comprehensive grammar of the Avestan language” (2020), and many other scholarly types of research.
This year, when he is no longer with us, Master Kaboli’s book was published with the help of Bazetabnegar Publishing House. This book is a translation of the poems of “Anna Akhmatova” (a famous Russian poet) and is called “Oath.” The writing style used by Professor Kaboli in this book is the same as that presented in the Persian Calligraphy Review Council.
Iraj Kaboli was a writer, translator, poet, and calligrapher. His death is a blow to the Persian culture, script and language because the extent that his research accomplished cannot easily be carried on by another, especially in a society that does not care about national language and script. But, if it did care, the present generation would not be so ignorant about the name “Iraj Kaboli”, and Iraj Kaboli should not have died so anonymously.
Alas! the real value and position of Prof Iraj Kaboli in introducing the correct method for reading and writing Persian, was not known during his lifetime, and not more than the scholars and experts in this field realized the role of this great man of Persian language and culture.
Source: Iraj Kaboli’s interview with Pejman Mousavi, Islamic Encyclopedia Center website / Ketabak website, an article by Mohammad Hadi Mohammadi / Mohsen Kheymehdooz article in “Negah No” magazine, No. 128, Procedure 232.
