On the 6th death anniversary of literary researcher and translator Hassan Rahavard, a collection of books and documents from his private library was donated by his family to the Parliament Library, Museum and Document Center.
According to Ali Tatari, manager of the document center, most of the donated books and documents are about the history of Iranian ancient traditional sports (varzesh-e bastani) as well as ta’zieh (a kind of theatrical performance inspired by historical and religious events). Some of the books are unique. Among the gifts are 15 manuscripts, containing texts of a variety of ta’zieh performances dating back to the Qajar era (1786-1926), ISNA reported Tatari as saying. Along with the books his family has also donated about 19 reel tapes and compact cassettes plus 150 old photos.
Rahavard passed away on May 21, 2012, at the age of 97. He was the first assistant of prominent linguist Ali-Akbar Dehkhoda (1879-1956) in writing the largest comprehensive Persian Dehkhoda Dictionary in 16 volumes.
Among his translations are Persian renderings of “The Learned Ladies” by French playwright Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière and “The Barber of Seville” by Pierre Beaumarchais. During the last years of his life, Rahavard had donated a large number of handwritten documents and photos to the Majlis, including a collection of texts and notes by politician and writer Mohammad Ali Foroughi, also known as Zaka ol-Molk, who was appointed prime minister three times during Pahlavi rule (1925-1979).
