SHAHRYAR, THE LITERARY MEMORIAL OF SOUTH AZERBAIJAN
His full name is "Seyyed
Mehemmed Hosseyn Behjet Tabrizi". He is called as “Seyyed”,
because his race comes from the Prophet Muhammad. Mehemmed
Hosseyn was his first name while Behjet Tabrizi is his
surname, and although Behjet is his nickname. He is also
known and called as Shahryar, which is his last nickname, in
his hometown and in the world.
There are a lot of sources about his
birth. But most probably one is that, he was born in "Baghmeshe"
district of Tabriz in 1904. His father "Hadji Mir Agha" who
is a well-known lawyer in Tabriz and his mother was "Mrs.
Kovkeb". Hadji Mir Agha was a middle size, lovely, serious,
patient man who enjoys poetry and music; he was also a
skillful "calligrapher".
Shahryar's childhood met at the periods
of constitutional monarchy time in Tabriz. The information
about his education is miscellaneous. He was firstly
educated by his father and he has began to interest in
poetry since childhood. He started to learn Quran and
Saadi's Golestan. He began his first official education at
“Medrese Muttahede” in Tabriz. In summers, he
continued his education near Molla Ebrahim Khalil which
located in Kayýshkurshak. He began his secondary school
education in “Feyuzat Middle Class” till 9th class. He also
learned the language and literature of Arabic at “Moslem
Theological School” in Tabriz. Later, in 1921 he went to
Darolfunun (an old science school) and in 1923, he attended
to a medical school but he couldn't finish the faculty of
medicine because of money problems. We know that he was in
love with Soreyya. In a radio interview in 1973, he told
that “Soreyya and him would meet for last time in Behjetabad
but Soreyya didn't come and the day after the interview, he
was sent into exile from Tehran while there was only three
months left to finish his study in medicine”. He stated that
he dedicated his poem called "Behjetabad
Khateresi" to that meeting.
The poet started working as a
government official in 1932. When he was back to Tehran in
1935, he started working in "Keshavarzy Bank". His father's
death was one of the most important event in his life. After
his arriving back to Tehran and his father's death in 1935,
he was in depression. The poet began to stay far away from
his closer friends. At these times, he started to join
“calling someone's spirit séances”, and interested in
Sufism. Meanwhile he went on a trip to Tabriz for four
months. Shahryar's depression periods took long a long time.
After his mother's death, he was
again in depression and got sick. The poet left Tehran to go
back his birthplace Tabriz in 1953. He started working in
Zeraet Bank till he gets retired. He wrote "Heyderbabaye
Selam" (Hello To Heyder Baba) there and published in 1953.
Then he moved into Tabriz and married a
primary school teacher who is 35 years old younger than him
and one of his relatives. In 20 August 1953 he bought a new
house there. From that marriage, they had four children.
Shahryar went to Khoshkenab, wrote “Heyderbaba 2nd”
and published there. In 1976, he went to Tehran and while
they were on a visit, his wife died of a heart attack.
Most of his Turkish poems published by
Sheyda in Tehran. His 80th birthday was celebrated in 1984
in Tabriz University. Shahryar spent his last days in a very
bad condition. He got sick because of his old age and
finally he died in 18 September 1988. He was buried in the
most famous grave called “Al Shuara” in Tabriz. In order to
show respect to Shahryar, all the stores and shops were
closed and the people wore black clothes as a matter of
sadness.
Apart from his parent language Turkish,
the poet knew Persian, Arabic and French. He was interested
in music at his early age. He could play Tar well and
Abolhasan Seba who was a famous musician in Iran, gave him a
valuable Tar as a gift. He became one of the friends of
Iran's most famous singers, classical music composers,
Abolhasan khan Eghbal, Ghamer, Karimagha Safi, and he wrote
elegies in Persian and Turkish for many of them after their
death. After being retired, he lived a simple life. He liked
to go out with his children and spend time with them. The
poet also enjoyed to write verses of the Koran and give them
to his friends as a present.
In his retired days, he had money
problems. In one of his interviews with Ettelaat newspaper,
he said that he has been wearing the same cloths for 22
years. Shahryar’s name was given to the biggest amphitheater
of the literature faculty of Tabriz University's and one of
the schools in Tabriz. The “16th of March” was decided to be
the “Day of Shahryar” when he is alive. After his death, his
house transformed into a museum.
Some of the literary memorial of South
Azerbaijan's work of arts:
· Hello
To Heydarbaba, written in 1953, published in 1954
·
The Turk's Language (1969)
·
Answer to Mohammed Rahim(1967)
·
My Sahand (1970)
·
(Memories of Behjatabad)
·
(Answers to Soleyman Rotsam)
·
Don't Go Tersa's Child)
