There is a country in the Eastern end of what is known as the Mideast in the West. Iran—Persia of history and what we used to call Faaras, has given us wonderful works of cinema, poetry and other forms of art. Who can forget the amazing film ‘Becchha-ye Aasmaan (Children of Heaven)’ by Majid Majidi! Irani imagination stands out as a unique contribution to the repository of aesthetics that the human mind has produced. The same is true of children’s literature.
Like anywhere else, Iran has had its share of transformations in both writing and illustrations for children in the last hundred years. Reinterpreting the folklore, using a modern idiom, experimental genres have emerged. There is a rich collection of children’s books in Faarsi and a number of illustrators and writers are engaged in producing books for children. Eklavya deserves praise for bringing to children in South Asia, these few glimpses into the children’s writing in Iran. Due to demonization of Iran by the West, there is lack of information on what goes on there despite our vicinity. Hence, exposure of their works to our children is welcome.