Shahr-e Kord, IRNA – An Iranian artist from Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province has been awarded UNESCO’s best prize for his works on Persian poet Nezami Ganjavi in the First International Nezami Award.
In the Thursday event to commemorate the renowned Iranian poet, some 10 artists were awarded UNESCO prize, including Kourosh Asadpour from Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province.
Director General of Islamic Culture and Guidance Department of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province Ebrahim Sharifi said that Asadpour is a vocalist of local music, songwriter and cultural activist, who has been praised for his works in music sector of the cultural event.
The artist has been one of the most important cultural figures in Iran, who has played key role to promote and introduce tenets of Nezami Ganjavi, Sharifi noted.
The director general referred to the fact that the administration of President Ebrahim Raisi has attached importance to introducing Iran’s cultural figures as well as preserving Iranian and Islamic culture and identity, saying that March 12 was designated as the Day of Hakim Nezami in Iranian calendar; so, the administration holds different programs to mark the great poet in all provinces throughout the country, including First International Nezami Award.
Keykhosro Khoroush, Mohammad-Bagheri Aghamiri, Behrouz Gharibpour, family of late Hossein Dehlavi, Mohammad Roshan Dashti, Mehdi Mohebbati, Saeed Shafioun, Abdolmajid Arfaei and Hatam Asgari Farahani are among top figures active in introducing and promoting works of the great Iranian poet to the world.
Secretary-General of Iranian National Commission for UNESCO Ahmad Mohit Tabatabaei told IRNA earlier that Nezami is one of significant icons of Iranian cultural identity, because he is one of the five symbols of Persian language, whose works are of international importance and his worldview plays key role in human heritage.
Nezami Ganjavi was a 12th-century Muslim poet, who is considered the greatest romantic epic poet in Persian literature. He brought a colloquial and realistic style to the Persian epic.
The Khamsa or Panj Ganj consists of five long poems, including Makhzan-ol-Asrar (The Treasury of Mysteries), Khosrow and Shirin, Leyli and Majnun, Eskandar-Nameh (The Book of Alexander), Haft Peykar (The Seven Beauties). Nezami Ganjavi’s Haft Peykar was translated into English in 1924 by Charles Edward Wilson.
Source: Islamic Republic News Agency – IRNA
