Two books entitled""Booy-e- Jooy-e Mooliyan" and "Shekar-e- Lahze ha" were launched during a ceremony organized by the ECO Cultural Institute in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan, held at ECI on 25 January 2016 and was attended by Iftikhar Husain Arif, President of ECO Cultural Institute, H. E. Nematullo Emomzoda, Ambassador of the Republic of Tajikistan, Dr. Ghahreman Soleimani, Deputy, Research and Education, Islamic Culture and Relations Organization, Mohammad Afsar Rahbeen, Cultural Attaché of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Iran and a number of eminent figures in culture and literature.
At the ceremony, Iftikhar Husain Arif President of ECO Cultural Institute, said: " Today's event will host the unveiling ceremony of two valuable books " Booy-e- Jooy-e Mooliyan" a selection of Tajik poetry in the past 50 years compiled by Ostad Rustam Wahhab, a renowned researcher, scholar, and poet from Tajikistan and "Shekar-e-Lahzeha" which includes the poems of Dr. Fatemaeh Rake'i, the prominent Iranian scholar and poet, in Cyrillic letters to address wider readership."
"It is evident that among all arts, poetry is the most significant feature of any nation and is the indicative of the promotion of that nation. Also, creation and translation of a book is more like bridging the gap among nations to connect them together " he added.
H. E. Nematullo Emomzoda, Ambassador of the Republic of Tajikistan extended his gratitude to the ECO Cultural Institute for organizing the event and said: " thousands of people benefit from an authored book. I hope the book, published in Persian alphabet for the first time, further acquaint Iranian scholars with Tajik culture and renowned poets."
He added: " great performance of ECI in promotion of the books by poets of the ECO region is noteworthy."
Also Dr. Fatemaeh Rake'I, author of "Shekar-e- Lahze ha" and Head of Iranian Poets Association said: The Association has recently been implementing a project titled discourse on Iranian and world poetry. The project achievement has been 26 books of Iranian poetry translated into other languages and 14 volumes from world poetry translated into Persian."
She hoped that with the contribution of ECI, the books translated into the common languages of the region would be made available for the readership.
Elaborating on his book, Rustam Vahab, the Tajik author of "Booy-e- Jooy-e Mooliyan" said: " The book reviews poetry of 53 contemporary Tajik poets over the past hundred years."
Explaining on compilation of the book, he said: the book has been edited with great care and has been revised time and again to become a comprehensive reference for the Persian speakers worldwide."
Pointing to significance of Persian Language, Mohammad Sarvar Raja'I, a famed Afghan poet and scholar, said: Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan are inseparable speakers of Persian language. But it is unfortunate that we are not familiarized with each other literature.
He added: " our foes have divided our language in 3 so-called categories of (Iranian) Persian, Dari and Tajiki. Publication of such books is a milestone in
Speaking on significance of poetry, Dr. Ghahreman Soleimani, Deputy, Research and Education, Islamic Culture and Relations Organization said: " I believe that the role of poetry in any language is not as important as in Persian. It also serves functions of chronology and psychology."
"Geographical boundaries has always created separation and lack of cultural integration among Persian speakers. Our most important task at the present time is to promote a genuine understanding of our common culture."
The event came to an end by launching the books "Booy-e- Jooy-e Mooliyan" and "Shekar-e- Lahze ha" in presence of prominent figures in culture and arts.