TEHRAN -- Iranian historian Mohammadreza Nasiri’s efforts in editing and annotating “Tareekh-e-Farishta” were praised by the scholars attending the unveiling ceremony of the book about Indian history on Wednesday in Tehran.

The book can be used as an authoritative source for several Iranian historical and literary books, Persian scholar Tofiq Sobhani mentioned during the book’s unveiling ceremony on Wednesday.
A new version of “Tareekh-e-Farishta” written by Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah alias Farishta during the sixteenth century edited and annotated by Iranian scholar Mohammadreza Nasiri was unveiled during a ceremony at the Indian Embassy in Tehran.
At the ceremony, the Charge d’ Affairs at the Embassy of India in Tehran Sibi George called the India-Iran Friendship Association which sponsored the event a cultural bridge between the two countries.
He said that Iran and India have had an enduring cultural relationship and it is an honor for him to host Nasiri as an author who has written 27 books on literature and history.
Several Persian literati who grew up in India allude to Indian concepts in their books and several Iranian translators are also from this country, Sobhani mentioned at the ceremony.
“Nasiri was completely absorbed in his task while he was correcting the book. He made notes to make the book accessible to contemporary Persian readers,” he said.
Next, the renowned Iranian scholar Yadollah Samareh made a brief speech about the book calling Nasiri’s correction of the book a revival of the book that rescues it from oblivion.
“A similar preface to the book has not been written by any other literati up to now. He dedicated a great deal of time and energy to correcting and annotating the book,” he said.
“I was introduced to ‘Tareekh-e-Farishta’ when I conducted research on the history of India and found the book a useful resource. I negotiated with Sobhani and I made plans to correct it,” Nasiri said at the ceremony.
He said that at first, the correction of the book seemed easy but as he continued, he discovered that the book was very rich with numerous sources, so the correction was prolonged.
He said that there is a rich Persian cultural heritage in India that cannot be introduced to Iran by a single person, but there should be an institute to introduce it to Iranians.
Farishta began writing this book in 1589. The book is in three volumes and describes the complete history of ancient India, from the very beginning until the year 1607. The work has also been translated into Urdu.
Born in Astarabad on the shores of the Caspian Sea, Farishta (1560-1620) was a Persian historian.
While he was still a child, his father was summoned away from his native country to Ahmadnagar, Hindustan, to teach Persian to the young prince Miran Husain Nizam Shah with whom Farishta studied.