Lesson 21
Scene 1 from Shahrzad TV Series, A Failed Reconciliation
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Lesson Infoاطلاعات درس
Domestically produced television shows had waned in popularity in Iran due to strict censorship guidelines and the accessibility of satellite TV, which provided access to programs from diaspora media companies. This dynamic has changed in recent years due to the emergence of video rental services (شبکه ی پخش نمایش خانگی) that produce shows that would be deemed inappropriate for traditional broadcast TV. Iranians access these new shows through informal retail DVD sales and online streaming services.
The clip here and in the next lesson are from the popular series Shahrzad. Shahrzad owes its popularity to the well-known actors featured in the series and its setting in the aftermath of the 1953 coup against Mohammed Mossadeq, which allows for the depiction of political incidents that carry resonance in the present day, such as the house arrest of political leaders and the expulsion of politically active students from university.
The scene here shows Shahrzad speaking with her ex-husband Qobad. Shahrzad had been forced to marry Qobad because the man she loved, Farhad, was arrested by the Shah's regime and was due to be executed because of his involvement with the pro-Mossadeq movement.
Bozorg Aqa, a powerful underworld figure with political ties, agreed to help rescue Farhad only if Shahrzad agreed to become the second wife of Qobad, his nephew and heir. Qobad's first wife, Bozorg Aqa's daughter, was unable to conceive and Bozorq Aqa wanted to find a second wife for his nephew to produce a (male) heir for the following generation of the family. After Shahrzad gave birth to a boy, named Omid, through the forced union with Qobad, Bozorg Aqa forced the two to divorce and forbade Qobad from further contact with Shahrzad.
In this scene, Qobad is trying to reconcile with Shahrzad, contrary to the dictate of his father-in-law. Although their marriage was envisioned by Bozorg Aqa to be temporary and instrumental, Qobad wound up falling in love with Shahrzad, who is - as we see in the scene - less than eager to re-start a relationship with Qobad.
To Qobad's great annoyance, Shahrzad uses formal language as a distancing tactic throughout the conversation in this scene.
Video
Tags
Segmentsبخش ها
چقد...
Persian 2/33
Cheqad..
How...
Qobad stops his thought and continues on a different track in the next segment.
می تونم.... می تونم برسونمت خونه؟
Persian 3/33
Mitunam… mitunam beresunam-et xune?
Can I ... can I drive you home?
امید طوریش شده؟
Persian 4/33
Omid tori-sh shode?
Has something happened to Omid?
نه.. نه... امید خوبه.
Persian 5/33
Na.. na.. omid xube.
No... No... Omid is fine.
خودم... باهات حرف داشتم.
Persian 6/33
Xodam… bāhāt harf dāshtam
I... want to talk to you.
Me... I had a word with you.
بزرگ آقا برای شما به پای شخصی گذاشتن؟
Persian 7/33
Bozorg Āqā barāy-e shomā bepā-ye shaxsi gozāshtan?
Has Bozorg Aqa assigned you a personal sleuth?
Bozorg Aqa forced Shahrzad and Qobad to get divorced. Bozorg Aqa has forbidden Qobad to see Shahrzad again. Contravening Bozorg Aqa's command, Qobad approaches Shahrzad again in this scene and casts nervous glances about when talking outside to see if someone notices them together. Shahrzad notices this circumspection and asks this pointed question.
اینطور دور و اطراف و پاییدن..
Persian 9/33
Intor dor-o atrāf-o pāyidan…
This way of watching the surroundings...
میگم شاید نگرانین کسی دنبالتون کرده باشه.
Persian 10/33
Migam shāyad negarān-in kasi donbāl-e-tun karde bāshe.
I am saying you might be anxious that someone has followed you.
این ملاقات بی وقت ارزش این همه وحشت و دل نگرانی رو داره؟
Persian 11/33
In molāqāt-e bi vaqt arzesh-e in hame vahshat o del negarāni ro dāre?
Is this untimely meeting worth all this fear and anxiety?
من دل نگران چیزی نیستم.
Persian 12/33
Man del negarān-e chizi nistam.
I'm not anxious (about) anything.
تو هم انقدر عصا قورت داده با من حرف نزن، یه جوری که انگار اصلاً همدیگه رو نمی شناسیم و با هم غریبیم.
Persian 13/33
To ham enqad asā qurt dāde bā man harf nazan, ye juri ke engār aslan hamdige ro nemishnāsim o bā ham qaribim.
Also, don't speak to me so stiffly; a way like we don't know each other at all and we are strangers to each other.
Although غریبه هستیم (qaribe-hastim) would be more strictly correct in place of غریبیم (qaribim), Persian frequently uses singular nouns when the plural intent is obvious from the context.
می دونم خبط کردم سر خاک آقای خدا بیامرزت نیومدم.
Persian 14/33
Midunam xabt kardam sar-e xāk-e āqā-ye xodā biyāmorz-et nayumadam.
I know that I made a mistake by not going to your father's funeral, God bless him.
خب نیومدم چون نمی تونستم.
Persian 15/33
Xob nayumadam chon nemitunestam.
Well, I didn't go because I wasn't able to.
روم نمیشد با تو و خونوادت چش تو چش بشم.
Persian 16/33
Rum nemishod bā to o xunevādat chesh tu chesh besham.
I was too ashamed to face you and your family.
I was ashamed to look in your and your family's eye.
ولی به جان خودت شهرزاد که می خوام دنیام نباشه، تو خلوت و تنهایی خودم، عزایی واسش گرفتم که انگار بابای خودم مرده.
Persian 17/33
Vali be jān-e xodet Shahrzād ke mixām donyā-m nabāshe, tu xalvat o tanhā-yi-ye xodam, azā-yi vasash gereftam ke engār bābā-ye xodam morde.
But I swear on your life Shahrzad, whom I don't want the world without, in private and in my solitude, I mourned for him as if my own dad has passed.
فکر نمی کنم روح آقاجونم راضی به زحمتتون بوده باشه.
Persian 19/33
Fekr nemikonam ruh-e āqā junam rāzi be zahmat-e-tun budeh bāshe.
I don't think my father's soul would have wanted to cause you any trouble.
1-This line of dialogue has a sarcastic tone. 2- آقا جون (āqā jun) is another way of saying father or dad, one which emphasizes love and respect. 3- راضی به زحمت نبودن (rāzi be zahmat nabudan) is a ta'rof that means not wanting to trouble someone. It is used, for example, when a guest brings a gift to a host. The latter might say: ما راضی به زحمت شما نبودیم (mā rāzi be zahmate shomā nabudim - Oh, we didn't want to trouble you). Here, however, Shahrzad is using the term sarcastically because Qobad, as the son-in-law of the deceased, should have attended the funeral.
اینجوری با من حرف نزن شهرزاد.
Persian 20/33
Injuri bā man harf nazan shahrzād.
Don't talk to me like this Shahrzad.
ما تا همین یه ماه پیش با هم زن و شوهر بودیم.
Persian 21/33
Mā tā hamin ye māh-e pish bā ham zan o shohar budim.
We, up until this last month, were husband and wife.
خودتون میگین "بودیم".
Persian 22/33
Xodetun migin ''budim.''
You yourself are saying “we were.”
دوباره میشیم، چیزی عوض نشده.
Persian 24/33
Dobāre mishim, chizi avaz nashodeh.
We will be again; nothing has changed.
از اوّلم بهت گفتم این دوران می گذره، موقّتیه.
Persian 25/33
Az aval-am behet goftam in dorān migzare, movaqati-ye.
I told you from the beginning this period will pass, it's temporary.
فک کن جنگ شده، زلزله شده، چه میدونم.
Persian 26/33
Fek kon jang shode, zelzele shode, che midunam.
Imagine there is war, an earthquake, I don't know.
You think a war has happened, an earthquake has happened, what do I know.
Qobad is saying that the current separation will only be temporary. After some of the current turmoil blows over, they will be able to be together again. He is asking her to imagine their time apart in the same way that couples are sometimes temporarily separated as a result of war or natural disaster but still reunite afterwards.
یه بدبختی سرمون اومده، یه مدّت باید از هم دور باشیم و همدیگه رو نبینیم.
Persian 27/33
Ye badbaxti saremun umade, ye modat bāyad az ham dur bāshim o hamdiga ro nabinim.
[Imagine] a misery has befallen us, we have to be far from each other for a while and don't see each other.
اینکه دلیل نمیشه من بخوام تو رو فراموش کنم، یا اینکه تو مال من نباشی.
Persian 28/33
Inke dalil nemishe man bexām to ro farāmush konam, yā inke to māl-e man nabāshi.
This doesn't mean that I would want to forget you, or that you wouldn't be mine.
می شنوی بهت چی میگم شهرزاد؟
Persian 29/33
Mishnavi behet chi migam Shahrzād...?
Are you listening to what I'm telling you, Shahrzad?
نه شرع، نه عرف، نه از اون مهم تر، عاطفه من به شما اجازه بده، پاتونو از یه گلیمی اون ور تر بذارین.
Persian 30/33
Na shar’, na orf, na az un mohemtar, ātefe-ye man be shomā ejāze bede, pātun-o az ye gilim-i unvar-tar bezārin.
Neither shariah, nor common law, and more importantly, nor my feelings would ever permit you to cross boundaries.
Neither shariah, nor tradition, and more important than that, nor my feelings would let you put your foot beyond a kilim rug.
پا از گلیم دراز کردن (pā az gelim derāz kardan) is a saying in Persian that means acting improperly, crossing boundaries, or not knowing one's place. گلیم (gelim) rugs are known as "kilim" in English, from the Turkish word for the same style of rug. For more information on gelim/kilim, please refer to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilim.
وگرنه همین جا پیاده میشم.
Persian 31/33
Vagarna hamin jā piyāde misham
Or else I get off right here.
و یه نکته دیگه،
Persian 32/33
Va ye nokte-ye dige,
And one more point,
من به هیچکس غیر از خودم تعلّق ندارم، به عبارت بهتر، مال کسی نیستم.
Persian 33/33
Man be hich kas qeyr az xodam ta’aloq nadāram, be 'ebārat-e behtar, māl-e kesi nistam.
I don't belong to anyone except myself, (putting it) in a better statement, I'm not anybody's property.