Download PDFs of All Issues of Simorgh Magazine

Simorgh Magazine (Shervin Vakili's private journal for his friends)

Biography of Shervin Vakili, in his own words:

I was born in Tehran, and I have grown up and lived in this same city. My birthplace is in Fisherabad, or what is now Somayyeh Street. This area was originally called Fisherabad Garden during the reign of Naser al-Din Shah. I spent the first ten years of my life there, and then we moved to the Tarasht neighborhood. From about the age of seventeen, I came to the Ekbatan neighborhood, and I still live here today. Tarasht, where I spent most of my adolescence, was one of the old villages around Tehran that gradually, with the expansion of urbanization, became part of the city limits and is now near Azadi Square. Just as there is Deh-e Vanak in Tehran, and this area still retains its old fabric, Tarasht also retained its old, rural fabric until ten years ago. Of course, these days Tarasht is very different from its past. It was previously full of mulberry and blackberry orchards, its tree produce supplied Tehran, and its environment resembled a village. There is also an old cemetery there, though most of its graves have now disappeared and it has been turned into a park. The tomb of Sheikh Dorbasti is also located here. The word Tarasht is a variation of the word Dorbast. Tarasht also has an old bathhouse, about which I have even written and published a story called "The Bathhouse Jinn."

Moving on from Tarasht and my adolescent memories, I have been traveling regularly for about 22 years, a significant part of which has been not only within our country, Iran, but also in "Iranshahr" (Greater Iran), meaning countries like those north of Iran that were once part of Iran. I find seeing the natural environment very interesting, and of course, ancient monuments and anthropological aspects.

My main haunt now is Golestan Province, which was previously considered part of Gorgan. But since the flood came and some of the trees were destroyed, instead of planting new trees and providing more care, they uprooted the remaining trees as well. This very issue causes even worse floods to come.... In short, my beloved place is now in a chaotic and bad state.

Another one of my haunts is the mountains around Tehran, which I think have many beauties and are also easily accessible.

I have also taken many trips abroad. For example, I have been to Central Asia, meaning Turkmenistan, Khwarazm, etc., which has now been turned into a travelogue. This past Nowruz, I also went to Burma, Malaysia, and Thailand, and so on.

Some might think such trips require very high expenses and see themselves as far from ever traveling to these countries. I think such a choice partly comes down to a person's lifestyle. I do not pay a lot for my trips, whether domestic or abroad. For instance, a few years ago when I went to Central Asia and my entire trip lasted 20 days, I spent about 400,000 Tomans. Of course, these days prices might be different due to the dollar.

In my opinion, a journey requires a backpack and a good pair of shoes. There is no need to go to 5-star hotels on our trips. Such touristy travel prevents the traveler from seeing the people. Of course, going among the people is a more difficult task. But I have seen through experience that it yields good results.

On my domestic trips within my country as well, I throw my backpack on my back and set off. On a journey, a hotel is not a consideration for me. I sleep wherever the situation is suitable. In Tajikistan, I slept in the mountains. In China, I would sleep in various villages. That is why I say my expenses on my trips are low.

Another place I am very fond of visiting is the Darakeh Valley, located on the outskirts of Tehran. Darakeh Valley is one of the most beautiful valleys I have ever seen. In addition to Darakeh, which is easily accessible, we can travel a few kilometers away from Tehran to reach the desert. Seeing the desert has its own special charm. Of course, this statement can be said of many places in Iran. From the region of Sistan and Baluchestan and Hormozgan to the west of the country, namely Kurdistan and Lorestan, whose beautiful and pristine nature is deeply moving, and on the other hand, from Fars and the southern regions, which possess valuable historical aspects, to the north of the country.

Saadi was a poet fond of travel, unlike Hafez, and his saying, "One must travel much for the raw to become ripe," has been repeated very often. I agree with this statement, and I have seen and experienced it. There are certain events that only happen to us while traveling. I issue a general call to all people: travel as much as is possible for you. It would be a pity to die without having had the unique experiences of travel.

An excerpt from the first issue of the magazine:

With this introduction, you must have gathered that the origin of the idea for this magazine also seems enigmatic. The idea flashed and settled in my heart while I was reading a poem by Saadi with this opening line:

The water of life is mine, the dust at the beloved's door

If two worlds are a delight, for us it is the sorrow of the beloved's face

Until I reached this couplet:

Each of my ghazals is a letter, containing an account of a state

What use is writing a letter, when it does not reach the beloved

And after reading this couplet, I very logically and straightforwardly concluded that the time had come to create an electronic magazine and send it regularly to my friends. Now, perhaps a few articles from Dr. Johnson's Rambler series, which I had read a little earlier, were also influential in this regard, because he too published essay-like letters like a magazine and distributed them to his readers.

In any case, aside from the origins of this thought in the unknown corridors of imagination, I had indeed been thinking for a long time about writing something like this text. Something between a magazine with a general audience and a letter one sends to a friend. Until now, many of you have complained about my being hard to find and my absence from friendly gatherings, and I think most of you have fairly accepted that the tasks that must be done are so numerous and extensive that little time remains for the pleasure of conversation with friends and perceiving the presence of kind souls. Nevertheless, there has always been much to say, and not a day goes by without the thought crossing my mind several times: "I must introduce this book to so-and-so friend" or "I mustn't forget to share this point with so-and-so" and especially "this poem/film/song is dying to reach so-and-so," and usually these thoughts come to nothing and vanish in the crowd of other thoughts and the whirlwind of new dispositions.

In short, the combination of all these factors led me to undertake writing this text. The desire to correspond with my friends, along with the hope that some of the readings, writings, and points might also be beneficial to my friends, compelled me to bring Simorgh into being, which is something between a magazine and a letter. It resembles a magazine because it has diverse and recurring columns and sections and is published regularly, or at least I hope it will be! It is also like a letter, because I write them addressed to my friends, and I am its editor-in-chief, writer, and editor, and for the time being, its layout designer and publisher too!

I hope to be able to prepare two issues of this magazine each month. Its various sections are unrelated to one another, although a large part of them connects to things I have read, written, or seen over the past two weeks. However, each issue is intended to be a miscellany of small essays whose content might perhaps add to your meaning, power, and joy—and possibly your survival. I will publish these letter-magazines electronically and through three channels. I will put it on the Sushians website, publish it on the Simorgh Facebook page, and also send it to the email addresses of my friends, because I do not wish to bother anyone; I will only include in the mailing list for this text those who have themselves requested it and informed me of the matter. My audience is specifically my friends, who fortunately number in the several thousands! But if any of you wish to share it with others, I think there is no problem at all, and it is very good indeed. If there is anyone who would like the publication to be sent to them electronically, even if they are anonymous and a stranger, let them send their address to my address so I can send the material to their address! In accordance with that fine tradition of a friend I have who likes the one who befriends your friend…

In producing this publication, I have enjoyed the help of my good friend Afshin Miabadi, who designed the visual symbols for each section with his usual creativity. This version you are reading is a preview issue, and since I did all the work—from typing and writing to layout—myself in a short time, it probably does not have an attractive shape and appearance. Its first issue, which will be published from Nowruz 1392, may still be the same and suffer from this affliction! I am eager for your feedback on this text. Please send your feedback about this publication to my email address ([email protected]). If you wish to discuss its content, go to the Sushians website or the Simorgh page and write your comment under where I have placed the publication.