Samineh Baghcheban
Speech in tribute to Abbas Yamini Sharif
UCLA, Los Angeles, California, February 1990
On behalf of Iranian children and my colleagues I would like to pay my tribute to our late friend Abbas Yamini Sharif who spent his noble life in service of our children and our culture and thank him for all his efforts in fulfilling our children’s intellectual and cultural needs.
Yamini Sharif was always thinking and in service of the children of our land. By writing poems, publishing magazines, writing books as well as elementary 1st grade tutorial book, he had an active and effective role in the cultural life of Iranian children at large.
One of his main services was the founding of Ravesheno schools in 1334 in Tehran. Some people from the audience may have been students at Ravesheno or had their children in that school. Ravesheno was not only a top quality school in education for children but also for their nourishment as well. Not only the students were cared for and attented to by Yamini Sahrif and his wife Touran but their parents too benefited from their valuable advices and learned from these two mentors.
In the minds of Ravesheno schools students will live forever the care and attention they received from these two sincere teachers who never separated education from nourishment. The image of Yamini Sharif’s kind face will always remain in his student’s memories which reminds one of the famous poem: “Never dies one whose heart lived with love”
Love for children can be sensed all over Yamini Sharif’s poetry but what differentiates him from other writers and poets is the value and importantance he give to the countryside and its life style. In his poems not only he praises varius elements in nature such as trees, animals, wind, rain and even wild grass but also draws children’s attention to the values and beauties of the life in countryside. Among his poems are “Morning in Village” and “Sunset in Village” that best portray the life in countryside and I will read some lines as examples:
Morning in Village
Herds set out for plains
Raising noises in the village
Tramping the soil, dust is in the air
Baby lamb running after his mother asking for milk
Cane in his hand the shepherd moves the herd.
And he starts the “Sunset in Village” as follows:
Vanished from the mountaintop, sunlight
Hid behind the mountain, the sun
Returned from the plain the herd
Grazed and roamed in full
Full is village of sounds and melodies
Of shepherd, herd and bell jingles
In all of Yamini Sharif works Value of human labor and usefulness to others are emphasized. In a childlike and sweet tongue and sometimes with humor he describes and values various useful occupations. Mills man, laborious ant, artist girls and helping boys all and all like a cooking pot “are proud because they are useful”. Honey bee, the “skillful flower expert” after describing its duties teaches our children lessons for life and says:
With my effort, with my work
Easy become my difficulties
Little while if I play
Little while some honey I make
In all his works Yamini Sharif demonstrates his rejection of gender discrmination and tries to take correct position in this regard. As we see in all his poetry children’s behaviors are valued by how they share, take responsibility in their chores and show kindness not on being boys or girls. He never separates type of work based on the gender and regardless of being boys or girls all children participate in doing all works. I his view labor is respected and is not only brings results but is also a source of joy. In his simple and beautiful poem “We Work” he values various occupations equally and coppersmith, blacksmith, boat-driver, carpenter, pastry and bread baker as girls and boys are happy to have work to do:
We children are blacksmiths
In hammering we are skilled
Whether boys, whether girls
Happy we are to have work to do
Or:
We children are boat drivers
We know how to row well
Whether boys, whether girls
Happy we are to have work to do
This approach results in planting the seed of appreciation of, respect for and interest in working and those who work.
Yamini Sharif was a proud Iranian and loved his motherland and promoted this love in children’s hearts. One of his most famous poems is the beautiful poem named “Children of Iran” that is sweet and full of memories for all of us young or old:
We are the smiling flowers,
Children of Iran
Dear as our lives
We take our divine Iran
We must be smart,
Vigilant and watchful
Able we must be,
In order to guard Iran
Be prosperous, Iran
Be free, Iran
From us, your children,
Be happy at heart, Iran.
And again in the Poem named “O’ beloved Iran” we witness his never ending love for the Iran’s land, sun, springs, streams, rivers and mountains and hear him saying:
O’ beloved Iran!
The golden land!
Planted on its chest, your soil holds red roses
Red roses at which smiles
At its rise and its set,
Loaf of sun
All over your pure body flowers fall
Red, blue, orange, white flowers
Pink, yellow, purple
Colors and scents
In all directions, everywhere
Yamini Sharif is well aware of the role that books play in development of children’s personalities and in this regard favors book in considering its positions with that of television and cinema. He takes every opportunity to encourage children to read books and befriend this “Gentle Friend” and talks for the books and says:
A gentle friend I am
Wise and well spoken
A lot I speak about
Though mute I remain
A lot I can advise
Many lessons I know
A friend who is artful
Harmless and useful
Don’t be unaware of me
A gentle friend I am
Believing that not every book that gets printed may be appropriate for children December of 1962 Yamini Sharif with help from Touran Mirhadi, Lili Iman ahi, and a group of writers, artists, publishers, librarians and teachers founded the “ Children’s Book Council”. The Council’s main goal is to study and to evaluate the books that are published for children and youths each year. The Council presents the result of its research and studies to the public in a free publication. Since its foundation the Council has had a great role in improving both the quality as well as the quantity of books published for children and youth and has taken effective measures in flourishing the genuine Iranian literature.
Yamini Sharif was one of the most active members of the Council’s board of directors and did not spare his time and generous financial support for the Council. As an example in 1978 he proposed that in addition to the annual Council’s honorary placard a monitory award to be given to the best writer, poet or artist of children books and from that date onward every year artists and writers benefited from Yamini Sharif’s cash awards.
After retirement Yamini Sharif continued his cultural activities by establishing the Ravesheno Publications in Tehran. In this location not only a center for the best books for children and youths but was a library for research in children’s literature as well. He generously and with open heart offered all his knowledge of Children’s and youth’s literature to all those who researched such subjects.
One of his qualities was that any one young or old, experienced or not felt relaxed and respected. Yamini Sharif was a thoughtful, patient, forgiving ans philosophical person.
I remember many years ago we both participated in meetings on school books. In these meetings we had different opinions in some respects but I never remember that such differences were ever reflected in his behavior outside the meetings and despite them we stayed friends and the credit for this good relationship was mostly goes to Yamini Sharif’s good temper.
Twinkling of stars, as long as there are, will refresh Yamini Sharif’d memory in our children’s minds and they will look for the wind from his beautiful poem:
Who has seen the wind?
To show it to the children,
No none, has seen it
With his own eyes in this world
But if you watch
The fields, gardens and flowers
When leaves tremble on the branches
Trees move bending back and forth, singing
Branches collide like hands clapping
All these signs tell you at that time for sure
Wind is blowing through the fields, through the gardens
Now it is appropriate to honor Touran Moghavemi Tehrani, Yamini Sharif’s loyal wife who in all difficult times was a supporting partner for his husband and recognize the great share that she had in Yamini Sharif’s different cultural and social activities.
With my best wishes for Yamini Sharif family I close my speech with his Poem named “Tree”:
With my own hands I plant a tree
Dig a trench to bring water to its foot
Some grass seeds on its soil
I throw to remain after me
Slowly my tree will sprout leaves and more
Making thick branches overhead
Grass grows green and lush
A lawn appears under my tree
Summers when heat is on
My tree opens its umbrella
Makes it shady cool
Attracts any one who passes by
At its foot an exhausted fainting one
In a hot mid day falls into sleep
Awakes and says whoever planted here
This tree, may your soul be always in peace
Yamini Sharif, the gardener of children’s poetry, may his innocent soul be always in peace.
Speech in tribute to Abbas Yamini Sharif
UCLA, Los Angeles, California, February 1990
On behalf of Iranian children and my colleagues I would like to pay my tribute to our late friend Abbas Yamini Sharif who spent his noble life in service of our children and our culture and thank him for all his efforts in fulfilling our children’s intellectual and cultural needs.
Yamini Sharif was always thinking and in service of the children of our land. By writing poems, publishing magazines, writing books as well as elementary 1st grade tutorial book, he had an active and effective role in the cultural life of Iranian children at large.
One of his main services was the founding of Ravesheno schools in 1334 in Tehran. Some people from the audience may have been students at Ravesheno or had their children in that school. Ravesheno was not only a top quality school in education for children but also for their nourishment as well. Not only the students were cared for and attented to by Yamini Sahrif and his wife Touran but their parents too benefited from their valuable advices and learned from these two mentors.
In the minds of Ravesheno schools students will live forever the care and attention they received from these two sincere teachers who never separated education from nourishment. The image of Yamini Sharif’s kind face will always remain in his student’s memories which reminds one of the famous poem: “Never dies one whose heart lived with love”
Love for children can be sensed all over Yamini Sharif’s poetry but what differentiates him from other writers and poets is the value and importantance he give to the countryside and its life style. In his poems not only he praises varius elements in nature such as trees, animals, wind, rain and even wild grass but also draws children’s attention to the values and beauties of the life in countryside. Among his poems are “Morning in Village” and “Sunset in Village” that best portray the life in countryside and I will read some lines as examples:
Morning in Village
Herds set out for plains
Raising noises in the village
Tramping the soil, dust is in the air
Baby lamb running after his mother asking for milk
Cane in his hand the shepherd moves the herd.
And he starts the “Sunset in Village” as follows:
Vanished from the mountaintop, sunlight
Hid behind the mountain, the sun
Returned from the plain the herd
Grazed and roamed in full
Full is village of sounds and melodies
Of shepherd, herd and bell jingles
In all of Yamini Sharif works Value of human labor and usefulness to others are emphasized. In a childlike and sweet tongue and sometimes with humor he describes and values various useful occupations. Mills man, laborious ant, artist girls and helping boys all and all like a cooking pot “are proud because they are useful”. Honey bee, the “skillful flower expert” after describing its duties teaches our children lessons for life and says:
With my effort, with my work
Easy become my difficulties
Little while if I play
Little while some honey I make
In all his works Yamini Sharif demonstrates his rejection of gender discrmination and tries to take correct position in this regard. As we see in all his poetry children’s behaviors are valued by how they share, take responsibility in their chores and show kindness not on being boys or girls. He never separates type of work based on the gender and regardless of being boys or girls all children participate in doing all works. I his view labor is respected and is not only brings results but is also a source of joy. In his simple and beautiful poem “We Work” he values various occupations equally and coppersmith, blacksmith, boat-driver, carpenter, pastry and bread baker as girls and boys are happy to have work to do:
We children are blacksmiths
In hammering we are skilled
Whether boys, whether girls
Happy we are to have work to do
Or:
We children are boat drivers
We know how to row well
Whether boys, whether girls
Happy we are to have work to do
This approach results in planting the seed of appreciation of, respect for and interest in working and those who work.
Yamini Sharif was a proud Iranian and loved his motherland and promoted this love in children’s hearts. One of his most famous poems is the beautiful poem named “Children of Iran” that is sweet and full of memories for all of us young or old:
We are the smiling flowers,
Children of Iran
Dear as our lives
We take our divine Iran
We must be smart,
Vigilant and watchful
Able we must be,
In order to guard Iran
Be prosperous, Iran
Be free, Iran
From us, your children,
Be happy at heart, Iran.
And again in the Poem named “O’ beloved Iran” we witness his never ending love for the Iran’s land, sun, springs, streams, rivers and mountains and hear him saying:
O’ beloved Iran!
The golden land!
Planted on its chest, your soil holds red roses
Red roses at which smiles
At its rise and its set,
Loaf of sun
All over your pure body flowers fall
Red, blue, orange, white flowers
Pink, yellow, purple
Colors and scents
In all directions, everywhere
Yamini Sharif is well aware of the role that books play in development of children’s personalities and in this regard favors book in considering its positions with that of television and cinema. He takes every opportunity to encourage children to read books and befriend this “Gentle Friend” and talks for the books and says:
A gentle friend I am
Wise and well spoken
A lot I speak about
Though mute I remain
A lot I can advise
Many lessons I know
A friend who is artful
Harmless and useful
Don’t be unaware of me
A gentle friend I am
Believing that not every book that gets printed may be appropriate for children December of 1962 Yamini Sharif with help from Touran Mirhadi, Lili Iman ahi, and a group of writers, artists, publishers, librarians and teachers founded the “ Children’s Book Council”. The Council’s main goal is to study and to evaluate the books that are published for children and youths each year. The Council presents the result of its research and studies to the public in a free publication. Since its foundation the Council has had a great role in improving both the quality as well as the quantity of books published for children and youth and has taken effective measures in flourishing the genuine Iranian literature.
Yamini Sharif was one of the most active members of the Council’s board of directors and did not spare his time and generous financial support for the Council. As an example in 1978 he proposed that in addition to the annual Council’s honorary placard a monitory award to be given to the best writer, poet or artist of children books and from that date onward every year artists and writers benefited from Yamini Sharif’s cash awards.
After retirement Yamini Sharif continued his cultural activities by establishing the Ravesheno Publications in Tehran. In this location not only a center for the best books for children and youths but was a library for research in children’s literature as well. He generously and with open heart offered all his knowledge of Children’s and youth’s literature to all those who researched such subjects.
One of his qualities was that any one young or old, experienced or not felt relaxed and respected. Yamini Sharif was a thoughtful, patient, forgiving ans philosophical person.
I remember many years ago we both participated in meetings on school books. In these meetings we had different opinions in some respects but I never remember that such differences were ever reflected in his behavior outside the meetings and despite them we stayed friends and the credit for this good relationship was mostly goes to Yamini Sharif’s good temper.
Twinkling of stars, as long as there are, will refresh Yamini Sharif’d memory in our children’s minds and they will look for the wind from his beautiful poem:
Who has seen the wind?
To show it to the children,
No none, has seen it
With his own eyes in this world
But if you watch
The fields, gardens and flowers
When leaves tremble on the branches
Trees move bending back and forth, singing
Branches collide like hands clapping
All these signs tell you at that time for sure
Wind is blowing through the fields, through the gardens
Now it is appropriate to honor Touran Moghavemi Tehrani, Yamini Sharif’s loyal wife who in all difficult times was a supporting partner for his husband and recognize the great share that she had in Yamini Sharif’s different cultural and social activities.
With my best wishes for Yamini Sharif family I close my speech with his Poem named “Tree”:
With my own hands I plant a tree
Dig a trench to bring water to its foot
Some grass seeds on its soil
I throw to remain after me
Slowly my tree will sprout leaves and more
Making thick branches overhead
Grass grows green and lush
A lawn appears under my tree
Summers when heat is on
My tree opens its umbrella
Makes it shady cool
Attracts any one who passes by
At its foot an exhausted fainting one
In a hot mid day falls into sleep
Awakes and says whoever planted here
This tree, may your soul be always in peace
Yamini Sharif, the gardener of children’s poetry, may his innocent soul be always in peace.