Kabul

Hosseini chose his title based on a line from the poem “Kabul” by Iranian poet Saib Tabrizi. How do the diction, imagery, and details of the poem portray the city in a historical context and how does this contrast with the lives of Afghan women, notably Mariam and Laila?

First off, let me just say that it was no easy task finding information about this poem that wasn’t written in Farsi or by other high schoolers tasked with similar projects. Since I don’t speak Farsi, I found the version conveniently translated by Dr. Josephine Davis. The poem is as follows:

Oh, the beautiful city of Kabul wears a rugged mountain skirt, And the rose is jealous of its lash-like thorns. The dust of Kabul's blowing soil smarts lightly in my eyes, But I love her, for knowledge and love both come from her dust.

I sing bright praises to her colourful tulips, The beauty of her trees makes me blush. How sparkling the water flows from Pul-i-Mastaan! May Allah protect such beauty from the evil eye of man!

Khizr chose Kabul to Paradise, For her mountains brought him near to heaven's delights. The fort's dragon-sprawling walls guard the city well, Each brick is more precious than the treasure of Shayagan.

Every street in Kabul fascinates the eye. In the bazaars, Egypt's caravans pass by. No one can count the beauteous moons on her rooftops, And a thousand splendid suns hide behind her walls.

Her morning's laugh is as gay as flowers, Her dark nights shine like beautiful hair. Her tuneful nightingales sing with flame in their notes, Fiery songs like burning leaves, fall from their throats.

I sing to the gardens, Jahanara and Sharbara. Even the Tuba of Paradise is Jealous of their greenery.

Tabrizi offers abundant praise for the city, using affectionate diction, striking imagery, and majestic details to express his wonder at its beauty, which he compares to that of a woman. The poem was written in the 17th century (Kenwood Academy, 1), during which time Afghanistan was merely considered a peripheral aspect of the Mughal Empire, which had moved its capital from Kabul to India (Embassy of Afghanistan). In his poem, Tabrizi makes an effort to acknowledge Kabul’s splendor during this period despite the city’s limited role. He also acknowledges its rougher aspects, writing that “the rose is jealous of its lash-like thorns,” lending both beauty and harshness to his personification of the city.

This line aligns itself perfectly with the image Hosseini portrays regarding Afghan women, who retain beauty in their strength and harshness from the struggles they have faced, with Laila and Mariam representing both pieces of the rose metaphor, respectively. Still, in Tabrizi’s poem, the city’s “blowing soil” hurts the speaker despite his love for it, much like Afghanistan hurts its women during each period of war, instability, and tyrannical government. Fariba’s love for the city and its connection with her dead sons makes her reluctant to leave and ultimately leads to her own death. Hosseini is purposeful in his inclusion of this poem in the novel (even using a line for the title) because Tabrizi’s feminization of the city and its audacious beauty that “makes [him] blush” is a stark contrast from the way in which women are instructed to hide their femininity and feel shame for it under the rule of the Taliban.

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