On the occasion of the Birth Anniversary of Sheikh Saadi Shirazi, six Indian scholars who have contributed to the promotion of Persian language and literature in India were honored by '5th Saadi Award' on Friday evening in New Delhi, IRNA reported.
Professor Idrees Ahmad, Professor Abdullah Subhan, Dr. Mrs. Sharifunisa Begum Ansari, Professor Chandra Shekhar, Professor Mrs. Bilqees Fatima Hussaini and Professor Hasan Abbas bagged the prestigious award which was jointly presented by the eminent personalities at a glittering ceremony organized by Iran Culture House in New Delhi, today evening.
Present on the occasion were representative of Velayat-e Faqih in India Hoj. Mehdi Pour, Iran Ambassador to India Seyyed Mehdi Nabizadeh, Cultural Counsellor, Dr. Karim Najafi, and Director of Iran's Cultural House Ali Deghai.
Beside the eminent scholars, students and distinguished guests, Ambassador of Tajikistan and Afghanistan in India, also witnessed the award ceremony.
Earlier, the messages of Dr. Haddad Adel, Mohammad Baqer Khurram Shah, Sonia Gandhi and Kapil Sibal were read by the eminent personalities, present at the event.
Expressing their gratitude over the "5th Sa'adi Award" bestowed upon Indian scholars in the field of Persian language and literature, they in one voice said that this award in Sa'adi's name will encourage younger scholars to continue this tradition and help strengthen the age-old civilizational and cultural ties between India and Iran.
They also extended the greetings to the awardees and the organizers.
Abu-Muhammad Muslih al-Din bin Abdallah Shirazi better known by his pen-name as Sa'di, was one of the major Persian poets of the medieval period. He is not only famous in Persian-speaking countries, but he has also been quoted in western sources.
He is recognized for the quality of his writings, and for the depth of his social and moral thoughts.Sa'adi's best known works are Boustan ('The Orchard') completed in 1257 AD and Gulestan ('The Rose Garden') in 1258.
Boustan is entirely in verse (epic metre) and consists of stories aptly illustrating the standard virtues recommended to Muslims (justice, liberality, modesty, contentment) as well as of reflections on the behaviour of dervishes and their ecstatic practices.
Gulestan is mainly in prose and contains stories and personal anecdotes. The text is interspersed with a variety of short poems, containing aphorisms, advice, and humorous reflections.
Saadi demonstrates a profound awareness of the absurdity of human existence.
The fate of those who depend on the changeable moods of kings is contrasted with the freedom of the dervishes.