Intro to Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam are a collection of quatrains - four line poetry stanzas - originally written by Persian scientist and poet Omar Khayyam (1048-1131) and first translated into English by the British writer Edward Fitzgerald (1809-1883) in 1859. As you can probably guess, some of the original meaning and messages may have literally been lost in translation as Fitzgerald translated these ancient poems from Farsi (the predominant language spoken today in modern-day Iran and parts of Central Asia, and what the original Rubaiyat was composed in) into English. Also, I am quite sure Fitzgerald added his own touch and interpretation into this translation thus further muddling the fidelity of the poem.

Even then, this translation, for all its shortcomings, would introduce the (Western) world to the genius and wisdom of Omar Khayyam. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam is a classic of the Islamic Renaissance and its lessons are applicable to this very day. Khayyam urged us to reject the notion that we were placed into this world for a reason and instead to come up with your own reasons for being. He also believed that we should live for this life and not for the next one. With this, I begin my journey into the fifth edition translation of Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat by Edward Fitzgerald (which is available via Project Gutenberg) which I will summarize and discuss in the subsequent blog entries.

NOTE:

A copy of the Edward Fitzgerald translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam is available at Project Gutenberg.

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

And so it begins...

Being a late entrant into the blogosphere, forgive me if I have no idea what I am doing and if I diverge from what is considered 'normal' blogging. I am not good at following rules, rituals, and structures. Hell, I cannot even stay true to engineering even though I graduated pretty high up in my Boston University Class of 2008 with a BSc. in Electrical Engineering. It seems I like researching into the human psyche, studying ancient cultures, discussing political ideologies, and immersing myself in the works of poets and scribes of the past as much as I enjoy working out mathematical proofs or programming obstacle-avoiding point robots in MATLAB.

In this culture of today where career specialization is often touted as gospel, I feel out of place with my diverse range of interests but it was not always like this...there were many periods in the past - most recently the European Renaissance - where people who cultivated their various talents were esteemed and not seen as dilly-dalliers. So, here it begins...this blog is a medium, a test, to see whether I have what it takes to become a "renaissance man."

Beginning tomorrow, I shall discuss Omar Khayyam and his masterpiece The Rubaiyat. Omar Khayyam was a remarkable individual from old Persia (modern-day Iran) who lived and died more than 900 years ago - an accomplished mathematician, philosopher, astronomer, physician, and poet. In other words, the very embodiment of renaissance. Tomorrow (well today when I wake up), the work will begin. So stay tuned for another 'Attempt at Renaissance'!