Ali Bagherzadeh; Heir to Poetry, Literature, and Philanthropy in Khorasan

The provincial service of the Iran Book News Agency (IBNA) – Jamal Modirshanehchi, writer and researcher: The region of Khorasan, this fertile land of Persian culture and literature, has always been a cradle for brilliant figures whose scientific and artistic radiance has illuminated the expanse of Iran. From the renowned Ferdowsi to Attar of Nishapur, Asadi Tusi, Khajeh Nizam al-Mulk Tusi, and others… this land has nurtured valuable individuals whose names are intertwined with Iranian identity.

This treasure is not limited to the past. In the present era, Khorasan Razavi has also introduced poets, writers, and thinkers to society, each of whom has played a significant role in the flourishing of this land’s culture and literature. Prominent figures such as Mohammad Reza Shafiei Kadkani, Malek-ol-Sho’ara Bahar, Akhavan Sales, Badiozzaman Forouzanfar, and many others, through their profound thoughts and exquisite works, have not only preserved the Persian language but also presented a comprehensive picture of the concerns, aspirations, and issues of their time. The series of articles ‘Introducing Contemporary Literary Greats of Khorasan’ aims to introduce one of these contemporary literary luminaries every Tuesday, providing a new opportunity to become acquainted with their works and thoughts.

Ali Bagherzadeh, known by his pen name ‘Baqaa,’ a man of letters, poet, writer, philanthropist, and university official, was born on July 2, 1929, in Mashhad into a merchant family. In 1947, after the death of his father, he took on the responsibility of caring for his mother and seven sisters.

He started working in his father’s tea trading business and was unable to pursue a university education. During the time he worked at his father’s trading house, Ali Bagherzadeh learned English and Arabic at the Iran School and Mahdieh Haji Abedzadeh.

Among his prominent teachers during that period were Sheikh Mohammad Taghi Adib Neyshabouri and Ghasem Rasa. Bagherzadeh also greatly benefited in literature and poetry from the presence of the late Masters Homaei, Mojtaba Minavi, Saeed Nafisi, Ali Akbar Fayyaz, Mahmoud Farrokh, and Forouzan, and chose ‘Baqaa’ as his poetic pen name.

He also had a special talent for composing quatrains (ghat’eh). Some of his poetic works were published in literary magazines and textbooks during that time. In addition to poetry, Bagherzadeh also had a strong hand in literary research. He married in 1951 and in 1967 became the head of Sabat Khorasan Sugar Company (Fariman Sugar Factory), serving as a board member for about 37 years.

His benevolent nature, generous spirit, and self-sacrifice were inseparable elements of his character. He also self-taught Arabic and English. During those days, Haj Ali Bagherzadeh made numerous trips to other countries. After his spiritual journey to Hajj in 1956, from the early 1960s, he traveled with Ghasem Rasa to America, Northern and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Iraq, the memories of which he published in the book ‘Dar Pich o Kham-e Zendegi’ (In the Twists and Turns of Life).

Throughout his valuable life, he used every opportunity to promote benevolence; from tending to his inherited land in the village, which he organized in the best possible way, to supporting the living conditions of students who, like fertile grounds of knowledge, deserved care and organization. After the Revolution, Bagherzadeh, as one of the most experienced managers in the province, took charge of the Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture of Khorasan Province.

After being appointed as a member of the Board of Trustees of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, eager to participate in scientific gatherings and associate with scholars and literati, he left the Chamber of Commerce and, more than anything else, attended to student affairs and their problems within the university setting. Ali Bagherzadeh (Baqaa), alongside all his managerial positions and career successes, was one of the most prominent heirs of classical literature in Khorasan. Having been involved with poetry and verse since the age of ten, his poetic works, composed with moral themes and sometimes in the form of quatrains, were published by magazines such as Yaghma, Pazh, Vahid, Ayandeh, Khandaniha, Meshkat, Farhang-e Khorasan, and Kayhan Farhangi.

Ali Bagherzadeh Baqaa documented his rich life story in works such as ‘Memories of Eight Decades of Life,’ which covers memories from his parental home in Mashhad and childhood adventures to the days of Reza Khan’s departure from Iran and the occupation of the country by Russian and British forces in September 1941. The books ‘Journey to Moscow and Saint Petersburg’ and ‘Seir-e Afagh’ (Journey Through Horizons) are other works by Ali Bagherzadeh related to his travel experiences.

Other works by him include ‘Latifeha’ (Jokes), ‘Zendegi-ye Taraz-e Yazdi’ (Life of Taraz-e Yazdi), ‘Ash’ar-e Manzoom-e Chehel Hadith-e Imam Reza’ (Poetic Verses of Forty Hadiths of Imam Reza), ‘Deh Maghaleh’ (Ten Articles), ‘Divan-e Ash’ar-e Raz-e Baqaa’ (Collection of Poems: Secret of Baqaa), ‘Safarnama-ye Hajj’ (Hajj Travelogue) with the title ‘Voghoofi dar Arafat’ (A Stand in Arafat), ‘Safarnama-ye Omoumi’ (General Travelogue), ‘Nasimi az Diyar-e Khorasan’ (A Breeze from the Land of Khorasan), ‘Bazm-e Mohabbat’ (Feast of Love), ‘Deh Maghaleh’ (Ten Articles), and ‘Ketab-e Yad-e Madar’ (Book of Mother’s Memory). Master Bagherzadeh Baqaa was a steadfast pillar of poetry and prose in Khorasan. He was a diligent school builder, an exemplary and successful entrepreneur, and a rare writer and poet, also considered an exemplary manager among industrialists and merchants.

The construction of two elementary and junior high schools in Alaqeh village, the construction of an elementary and high school named after his wife in Mashhad’s District 5, the endowment of his three-thousand-volume library to the Astan Quds Razavi Library and Vaziri Library of Yazd, the opening of a dormitory for five hundred female students, and the construction of a dormitory for married students are among Bagherzadeh’s other benevolent and brilliant life endeavors.

Ali Bagherzadeh finally passed away on December 10, 2016 (19 Azar 1395 in Persian calendar) at the age of eighty-seven in Mashhad and was laid to rest in the Mausoleum of Poets in Tous, near Ferdowsi’s tomb.