Trafika Europe 9/10 - UK in Europe

Bakhtiyar Ali

an appetite inappropriate to the soul of a shy man whose lifetime had been defined by modesty, he filled countless pages with tales of unreal, passionate nights in which two thirsty bodies andwild spiritsmet. Sometimes he apologised for speaking in a particular way; other times, he completely forgot he was talking about Bahman’s mother. He forgot he was speaking about a woman whomBahman had seen as pure, and without desire. At no point did the mullah refer to a direct relationship between Baharbanu and himself. He lived in his fantasies, fell in love in his fantasies and slept with Baharbanu in his fantasies. It is a story the men and women of this country have lived for many thousands of years. For thousands of years,

the women and men of this country have slept together in fantasy, have liked each other from afar, have fallen secretly in love without revealing their love to one another, like a hunter and a deer, neither wanting the other to know the secret of their heart. Century after century, stifled fantasies have piled up in the alleys and streets, in the rooms and on the verandas of this country. Century by century, this restraint and self-censorship have become a profound and secret science, producing its own sages and scientists; century by century, our alleyways have become a theatre for our imagination while the prayer mats and prayer niches of this homeland became the platform for such sighs and moans

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