Death of Mohammad-Ali Afrashteh · Mohammad-Ali Afrashteh

Culture of origin: Gilak · Cultural

Holiday sources: Gilak

Mohammad-Ali Afrashteh was born in 1908 in the village of Bazqaleh in Sangar, near Rasht. His Gilaki poems are counted his greatest achievement, and some call him the greatest poet in Gilaki. On 17 Esfand 1329 (8 March 1951) he began Chelangar, a four-page satirical and political paper written mostly by himself, with a page for writing in the local languages; on 14 Azar 1330 (6 December 1951) a mob wrecked its office, which was also his home. The paper ended with the coup of 28 Mordad 1332 (August 1953), after which even naming him in the press was treated as a crime. He hid for about a year and a half, left Iran at the end of 1334 SH and settled in Bulgaria as 'Hassan Sharifi', writing stories for a Bulgarian weekly. He died of heart disease in Sofia and is buried there.