Marjane, meri jaan!

The best compliment I ever received in my life long ago was how I reminded him of Marjane. Yes, you heard me right. Trust me even I was also as surprised, taken aback and flattered beyond words. But what happened thereafter is more than interesting, it's my lived experience. 

Yes, you are right once you've read Persepolis there's no turning back. It was like no other in it's honesty, humour and format. In literature old and new many formats have been introduced since the times of Tindale and Satrapi's graphic novel couldn't be anything else, epoch breaking in every way. As a student of literature it was more fascinating to me to say the least, and the stark black and white made the irony ring very close and personal. I think that's why it became this "universal fable of childhood" as it's being called today. Your world view is bound to shift once you finished reading it. So it did for me as well. Her sense of irony and constant defiance rang a bell so deep it overwhelmingly took over everything I believed in. I could voice my opinions with a new depth and humour, sometimes dark but mostly self-effacing in the face of lemons life constantly tossed onto me. Yeah, life after Persepolis was very real and often tragic. However, the young girl from Persepolis kept moving forward with chin up. In 56 years her body of work has contributed in so many ways for young girls and women all over the world it's remarkable. 

Yet life ultimately broke her down with the loss of her beloved. In art or in life love and human affection remains the truest of the emotions which breaks us all, it did so to Vincent, Frieda and now Marjane. Lovers always lived and saw things differently from us. Rest in peace dearest Marjane, a true story teller of our times.