Parvin Etesami's Autobiography-4 (Bahar's idea about Parvin)

I had heard that he published a magazine. He liked me too much. Unlike others who called me Rakhshandeh, he would call me Parvin. He would talk to me in a manner as if I had the same stature. Probably whatever was there was in my name and his name. Whenever I was Parvin, they would treat me like grown-up people and whenever I was Rakhshandeh I would become a little girl and they would treat me just like an infant. But I liked both the names. I liked to grow elder. This was why I tried to be Parvin, but I didn’t know why I didn't grow up. I didn't grow up even a morsel.

Once Bahar told my father: “Yousuf, your little daughter composes better and more beautiful poems than a number of grown up pompous poets who only try to show off.” My father only laughed, but he didn't say anything. When Bahar realized that I was surprisingly watching him and my father, turning his face towards me, but as if addressing both of us, said: “The daughter of a person like Yousuf E’tesam-ul-Mulk should become a great poetess in childhood and compose genuine poems!” I don’t know why my father smiled again and patted Bahar on the back and this time Bahar too smiled. They left and left me with a question in mind: why did they smile?! I thought a lot, but finally I couldn't realize what part of Bahar’s remarks was funny that even made him and my father laugh.

Translated by: Sadroddin Musawi