by 
Written by Kourosh Ranjbar, in memory of Jalil Ziapour, titled “Don’t Call Me Master”, Monday, 22 December 2008
In the year 1999, I went to Jalil Ziapour’s home in Shahrak-e Gharb to visit and photograph him. He opened the door for me himself. I said, “Hello, Master.” He said, “Don’t call me Master. I dislike it. These days, everyone allows themselves to be called ‘Master,’ and our work gets no better than this. We are spinning in circles and not getting anywhere.” We talked a lot. He said he has a comparative Gilaki dictionary that has not yet been published, and he spoke of the days of the magazine Fighting Cock (Khorus Jangi) (The Fighting Cock). He spoke of its banning, how for its republication they chose the name The Cock’s Claw (Panjeh-ye Khorus) for it, and when they asked why, I said, “They ate the rooster, its talon remained.” When it was banned again, we chose the name Kavir for it. He said university professors still come to see him, and he speaks to them. He spoke of the time when they thought Cubism meant Communism. He said that we had Cubism long before Picasso. I will not forget that day. May his memory be cherished.
Source: Cheshmha Blog
