On the pretext of the silence and whispers after the death of Ebtahaj
They say death takes away grievances too, but it seems that the grievances some had with Amir Houshang Ebtahaj are not so easily erased. With the passing of ‘Saye’, it became clear that there are quite a few people who were not fond of him, and incidentally, they were his peers and colleagues. This can be understood from the complaint-filled content of a journalist’s writing, as well as from between the lines of Yalda Ebtahaj’s heartfelt note, and also from a glance at the past of his daughter, who lost both her parents within a few months. She has published heartfelt notes on her Instagram, which show that these days, as she is involved in the matter of transferring her father’s body to Iran and fulfilling his will, which is to bury him under the Arghavan tree of the Koushk street house, she has read and heard things that have upset her. Now, her request is to allow her father’s body to be buried in peace. She wrote on her Instagram page: ‘Today, in these moments, I tell all those who have no idea of all this difficulty and easily pass by with words, ignoring the pains and sorrows, that the loss of Saye is a great pain, and let me have some space to mourn. Saye’s body has not yet rested in the soil. What are we doing with ourselves that we are emptying the world of ourselves and others from his teachings? In these shameless and misbehaving times, let us not forget his dignity, for he taught us yet another lesson.’
Akbar Montajabi, editor-in-chief of the Sazandegi newspaper, also wrote on his Instagram: ‘One of the strangest things I saw and directly heard today was that some prominent poets, famous writers, renowned musicians, and even top-notch journalists avoided writing and speaking about Saye. The excuses were varied. One said, ‘I don’t like his poems.’ Another said, ‘I am traveling and not in this state of mind.’ A few others made other excuses. It seems that among these figures, only Dowlatabadi was willing to write something for the newspaper in praise of Saye, and Shafiei Kadkani and Shams Langroudi too. Meanwhile, even some conservatives, after hearing or being told that apparently the Leader liked Saye’s poems or had met with him, wrote something, and even the Deputy Minister of Guidance contacted Yalda and said they were ready to cooperate in arranging the transfer of Saye’s body to Iran.
Why are they upset with Saye?
The issue seems to go back to many years ago, to a time when Saye was a staunch Tudeh member, although he considered himself a socialist until the end. To the time when he was in the Writers’ Association, to the time he joined the radio and took Dawood Pirnia’s seat in the Golha program. They say with his arrival, the program’s quality declined. Some were offended by him, and he also drove some away, causing some figures from the music world to become housebound. Composer Mohammad Heidari, in an old interview with Voice of America, referring to the time when Ebtahaj joined the radio, said, ‘At that time, the communists had taken over the entire radio. Mr. Ebtahaj gathered all the communists around him and took the work from others. Golpayegani, Habibollah Badi’i, Jalil Shahnaz, and Farhang Sharif did not return to the radio. Although some believe the issue was not leftist tendencies but rather a focus on youth, and Ebtahaj was seeking some transformations in the Golha program and introducing young people to it. Mr. Ebtahaj gave more opportunities to some young artists, especially Mohammad Reza Lotfi, who had more performances. When, for example, the violin was removed from this program, artists like Parviz Yahaghi protested this approach and left the Golha-e-Taze program. Since these artists carried the entire musical burden of the Golha collection, in Golha-e-Taze, they were used less, and fresh young talents replaced them, which led to their protest.
The daughter of Asadollah Alam
«..به طور کلی ما هیچ وقت از این جور مراسم ها و میهمانی ها با خبر نمی شویم و توده ای این قبیل مجالس را به شکل اسرار فراماسونری بین خود نگه می داشتند…بهتر بود آقای سایه کتاب «سرگذشت کانون نویسندگان ایران» را که در سال ۲۰۰۲ در سوئد چاپ شد را بخواند.
Because he was a Tudeh member
Saye was one of the expelled Tudeh members from the Writers’ Association in 1979. It seems the members were not fond of the Tudeh members. It’s a bitter irony to know that, for instance, Shamloo expelled Ebtahaj from the association. Mohammad Ali Sepanlou used the title ‘devotee of the Tudeh Party’ for Ebtahaj and said in an interview, ‘When we talk about devotion, it means that Mr. Saye, due to his devotion and faith in this party, wherever he took a stance, it was aligned with the policies of the Tudeh Party, and many of their views and reactions are contrary to what exists in their poems.’ Then, referring to Saye’s presence at a party hosted by Homa, the daughter of Asadollah Alam, and presenting his poetry book to her, he said, ‘In general, we never get informed of such ceremonies and parties, and the Tudeh kept these kinds of gatherings secret like Freemasonry mysteries among themselves. It would have been better if Mr. Saye had read the book ‘The Story of the Iranian Writers’ Association’, which was published in Sweden in 2002. It’s unfortunate that this book was not published in Iran. In part of this book, on page 212, I wrote that Nasrollah Kasraian, in one of the sessions in early November 1979, repeatedly mentioned the Tudeh members in a derogatory tone. Suddenly, Saye, who was sitting in the room, jumped up and, while shouting, ‘I am a Tudeh member, I want to see what you are saying,’ attacked Kasraian with the intention of assault, but since the number of attendees was large and the chairs were full and some were even sitting on the floor, he got stuck among the crowd and couldn’t reach the speaker.’