Monday, December 11, 2006

Poetry war

While browsing Amir's pictures of Tajikistan, I feel as if I'm at home, looking back at a country I once visited, and actually feeling real longing. Time is drawing near, Muallima said today that she doesn't want me to leave. It's not that I'll leave her mostly jobless she said, it's more of losing an intimate friend.

She's not the only one pleading for me to stay.

'Do you really have to go?'
'Stay half a year more, or at least one month more!'
'But surely, you will come back?'

Inshallah, I say. If I find a job, why not. Tajiks usually don't pay a lot of attention to me initially, but once we get talking Tajiki, they don't want to let me go. I once accompanied D when he had to settle some things with the water bill. So we're sitting in the office and as soon as the guy handling the matter finds out I'm studying Tajiki, he stops writing and starts speaking to me, and soon his co-workers join in. Later, they didn't want us to leave, even saying that I should return. They must be really bored at work.

Winning an argument in Tajikistan is easy. You don't have to be logical, you don't even have to be a good speaker. Just learn some stanzas by heart from the Poets and you're invincible. Unless the other guy knows more of course. Debates are very interesting to watch, the one who can recite the most fitting poem by heart wins.

Once, I won a poetry war with Muallima, using her own poem by Sa'di against her. She found it highly entertaining. I really don't know that much poetry but heart, but I know some from Mawlana Rumi and from time to time I throw in some stanzas when I speak with her, much to her amusement. Now, if I can only recite a fitting stanza at the time of my examination, that would probably charm them into giving me a higher grade. (That or 30 bucks! :P)

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