As strangers

Photo by Kave Kiani

Just some months ago there was published in Iran a new item of the vast CD production of the Kamkars, the CD Sâye-ye roshan-e mahtab, “Moon Shadow,” created by Bijan Kamkar in collaboration with the Mastan Ensemble.


The Kamkars are eight Kurdish brothers, I mean seven brothers and a sister. They form one of the most successful musical groups of Iran playing classical Kurdish music, the Kamkars (in Persian Kâmkârhâ, in Kurdish Kâmkârân). On their highly professional homepage you can find lots of good photos about them. You are advised to have a look at it, at least for a short glimpse into the fantastically colorful world of Iranian music.


In this CD, however, only Bijan Kamkar, the male soloist of the group features from them. He is accompanied by the Mastan Ensemble, which was only formed in 2005, but they already belong to the promising stars of Persian classical music. They perform the poems of Sufi poets like Hafez, Rumi or Attar. Even their name, meaning “drunkenness,” refers to that desired condition of the Sufi mystic when he can finally drink of the goblet offered to him by his divine Beloved.

The poems on the “Moon Shadow” are all from modern, 20th-century Sufi poets. We find among them the well-known and much recited poem “Gharibâne” (As strangers) by Hushang Ebtehaj (1928), by his pen name Sayeh, “Shadow,” which repeats and recomposes the images of the desire for God much used in Sufi poetry. It fits very well to the complex and forceful Kurdish music, which also has a long tradition of the ecstatic joy music of Sufi ceremonies, the shema’.

The popularity of the poem is indicated by the fact that here they only sing some verses of it, again and again returning to the first one, the basic idea of Sufi existence: that we are strangers in this world. Besides, instead of the original plural they sing it in singular: “seek for it”, “you are stranger” and so on, which renders more personal the message of the poem. In the following Romanized transcription I mark in gold the verses sung by Bijan Kamkar and in dark red those sung in the background by the male choir and the female soloist. Even the order of the strophes has been somewhat changed in the performance: after the 9th strophe, the song finishes with the 7th one, “seek for the house of silence” which is a really adequate end to a song.

In contrast to usual transcription, here I also indicate the long vowels with a horizontal dash, so that you could feel the pulsation of the poem already by reading it. The â which sounds like a long closed – “Hungarian” – a is of course always long, and perhaps this is the sound which contributes the most to the unique resonance of Persian poems. I recommend you to read aloud the transcription together with my litteral translation, because only the two together can convey something from the experience of the original poem.

In the translation of this very special text I had some uncertainties and therefore almost surely made some errors. I have sent it to three Persian friends for a revision, but after more than a month none of them has replied yet. It seems like this feature is also a companion of the wonderful Persian character, like the shadow is of the light. Therefore I decided to publish my translation as it is. I will be grateful for any eventual corrections of our Readers.


Bijan Kamkar (Iranian Kurdistan) & Mastan Ensemble (Teheran): Gharibâne (As Strangers) (3'19")

As Strangers

Gharibâne

غریبانه

seek out, seek out in this house seek out in this house you are strangers as strangers seek out	بگردید ، بگردید ، درین خانه بگردید دراین خانه غریبند ، غریبانه بگردید begardīd, begardīd, dar in khâne begardīd dar in khâne gharībīd, gharībâne begardīd
a bird walked here who was a consort of my soul this world is not his nest seek the traces of his nest	یکی مرغ چمن بود که جفت دل من بود جهان لانه ی او نیست پی لانه بگردید yekī morgh-e chaman būd ke joft-e del-e man būd jahân lâne-ye ū nīst pey-e lâne begardīd
a cup-bearer became drunken he sat down behind the curtain he has sent the cup ahead so that you could seek it drunken	یکی ساقی مست است پس پرده نشسته ست قدح پیش فرستاد که مستانه بگردید yekī sâghī-ye mast ast pas-e parde neshast ast ghadah pīsh ferestâd ke mastâne begardīd
if the joy comes from drunkenness whose is the soul behind the lips? from one hand into the other – why would you seek any contract?	یکی لذت مستی ست ، نهان زیر لب کیست ؟ ازین دست بدان دست چو پیمانه بگردید yekī lazzat-e mastī’st, nahân zīr-e lab kīst? azīn dast bedân dast cho peymâne begardīd
a stranger bird ate in the garden of my heart I have tamed it – seek the traces of the seeds	یکی مرغ غریب است که باغ دل من خورد به دامش نتوان یافت ، پی دانه بگردید yekī morgh-e gharīb ast ke bâgh-e del-e man khōrd be dâmash betân yâft, pey-e dâne begardīd
is the sweet breath of the dawn breeze the fragrance I feel? here is he, here is he seek him in the whole house	نسیم نفس دوست به من خورد و چه خوشبوست همین جاست ، همین جاست ، همه خانه بگردید nasīm-e nafas-e dūst be man khōrd o che khoshbūst haminjâst, haminjâst, hame khâne begardīd
a never heard tune is sounding that springs forth from itself don’t sing in the middle of rumor seek the house of silence	نوایی نشنیده ست که از خویش رمیده ست به غوغاش مخوانید ، خموشانه بگردید navâye nashenīd’ ast ke az khavīsh ramīd’ ast be ghughâsh nakhânid, khamushâne begardīd
like tears falling on the earth we squeeze out the juice of the vine song is born from its fermentation – seek it in the taverns	سرشکی که بر آن خاک فشاندیم بن تاک در این جوش خروش است ، به خمخانه بگردید sershekī ke bar ân khâk feshândīm bun-e tâk dar in jūsh khorūsh ast, be khamkhâne begardīd
what is this sweetnes and this fragrance as if I felt it in my dream? this rose full of nectar is, oh butterflies, you must seek	چه شیرین و چه خوشبوست ، کجا خوابگه اوست ؟ پی آن گل پر نوش چو پروانه بگردید che shīrīn o che khoshbū’st, kojâ khavâbge ū’st? pey-e ân gol por-e nūsh cho parvâne begardīd
just laugh at argumentation do not admire its love in its circle closed with chains oh you fools, what do you seek?	بر آن عقل بخندید که عشقش نپسندید در این حلقه ی زنجیر چو دیوانه بگردید bar ân 'aghal bekhandīd ke 'eshghash nepasandīd dar īn halghe-ye zanjīr chu divâne begardīd
in this corner of sadness you cannot see his signs if you long for treasures seek them among the ruins	درین کنج غم آباد نشانش نتوان دید اگر طالب گنجید به ویرانه بگردید darīn kanj-e gham âbâd neshânash netavân dīd agar zâleb-e genjīd be vīrâne begardīd
a key to the gate of hope if it exists, you are that on that old lock of stone why do you seek any keyhole?	کلید در امید اگر هست شمایید درین قفل کهن سنگ چو دندانه بگردید kelīd-e dar-e omīd agar hast shomayīd darīn ghofal-e kohan-e sang cho dandâne begardīd
does a shadow hide the face covered in dream by a spell? do not search it in the dreams seek it in the rapture	رخ از سایه نهفته ست ، به افسون که خفته ست ؟ به خوابش نتوان دید ، به افسانه بگردید rokh az sâye nehfat’ ast, be afsūn ke khoft’ ast? be khavânash netân dīd, be afsâne begardīd
his essence bite into mine he robbed me, he robbed me accept his open heat seek him with gratitude	تن او به تنم خورد ، مرا برد ، مرا برد گرم باز نیاورد ، به شکرانه بگردید tan-e ū be tanam khōrd, marâ bord, marâ bord garm-e bâz biâvard, be shokrâne begardīd

The image of the bird walking around and pecking seeds in the garden as a metaphor of God makes more acceptable to me what I had read with surprise in the Hassidic stories, that the Hassidic rabbi of Szatmár interpreted the verse In a green forest, in a green meadow a bird is walking of the well-known Hungarian folk song as the symbol of God.

“Bismillah-bird”, composed of the letters of the Quranic verse Bismillah al-rahman al-rahim, “In the name of God, the merciful, the passionate”

Hushang Ebtehaj is still living, since 1987 in Köln. He must be really happy. It is not enough that he received a poetic talent and that he can write his poems in one of the most beautiful languages of the world, but they are also set to tune by the greatest representatives of one of the most subtle musical culture of the world – besides Bijan Kamkar, also by Shajarian and his son Homayoun – and they are sung, quoted and read by a hundred million people. To whom we can already count our Readers as well.