Saturday, April 16, 2016
Abdulla Sher writes
AMONG THE RAINS
I am spending my life among the rains,
From spring to spring, from autumn to autumn,
I am spending my life among the rains,
From book to book, from words to words,
I am spending my life among the rains,
My dawning happens in the heart of raindrops.
Sometimes a drop – my nightingale, sometimes – my turtle dove,
Occasionally, a drop sinks as buck-shot to my soul.
I am spending my life among the rains,
I am also the raindrop – came from the sky.
And the ‘Simsim’ who opened the eye of storm,
As well as a bird that waved its rainy wings.
I am spending my life among the rains,
Every drop - one life, it’s the one world,
I watch calm among the rains:
As the dirty world becomes washed,
Among the rains!
--tr. Asror Allayarov
“Simsim” is the word for sesame in various Semitic languages and is widely used in Arab-influenced East Africa. Sesamum indicum is a flowering plant cultivated for its edible seeds, which grow in pods. It originated in India but is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa. It is the oldest known oilseed crop, domesticated for well over 3000 years, and has one of the highest oil contents of any seed. Egyptians called it sesemt and included it in the list of medicinal drugs in the scrolls of the Ebers Papyrus from ca. 1500 BCE, and Urartu pressed the seeds to extract oil at least 2750 years ago. Its widespread popularity was favored by its ability to grow in areas that do not support the growth of other crops, and it. is a robust crop that needs little farming support. It grows in high heat, in drought conditions, and even when rains are excessive.The world harvests about 4.8 million metric tons of simsim seeds a year, worth over a billion dollars. The opening of the simsim capsule releases the treasure of seeds; upon ripening, the seeds split, releasing a pop and possibly indicating the origin of this phrase “Open Sesame.” In .the story "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," the phrase magically opens a sealed cave.
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