In rememberance of a dear friend and an illustrious scientist
By Ahmad Birashk
1
It was 1930. October forreached and a new semester began. A number of youths who had
finished and graduated from high school and were paasionate to become teacher, had joined to
Dar al-Moalemin Aali, the National Teachers' Training College.
Dar al-Moalemin Aali where became later Daneshsara Aali and is now University of
Teachers' Training, began its second academic year in that year. This academic system was a
developed school where had been working to train school teachers since 1918 and Abolhasan
Foroughi undertook to manage it for some years. In 1930, it was set up in one of branching
alley from Amiriyeh Street, in the parish called Sabzikar Takht Zomorod, in a building where
became later the seat of Maarefat high school. There were no trace of gaudiness, glory, luxe,
many employees and servants in it. It had even no head and director. Its headmaster was
undertaken by Hasan Farzani who was from the first alumni of Law College in 1923 and its
registrar was Mohammad Taghi Kerman. A number Iranian teachers such as Gholamhossein
Rahnama, Abbas Eghbal, Dr. Rezazadeh Shafagh, Badia Zaman Forouzanfar and three
French teachers, Dr. Loui Lang, Dr. André and Dr. Arma, taught there.
With all simplicity and perhaps for its simplicity, it was wish Kaaba for those who intended to
become teacher.
***
In that year, 20 people (and apparently exactly 23 people) among who has graduated
with high school diploma in mathematics, had enrolled, among them whom I remember:
Abdolhossein Aghakhani, Ahmad Ahsani, Abolghasem Ahmadvazir, Hosseinali
Akbarnia, Mostafa Bahrami, Mohammad Rokni Qajar, Mohammad Zayandehroud,
Mohammad Taghi Sajadian, Bagher Shahnai, Hossein Gharib, Ali Akbar Gorkani,
Hossein Majzoub, Ali Asghar Mousavi Gharavi, Ahmad Mehran, Taghi Hourfar and
myself.
Among us, Ahmad Mehran was witted, improvisative and he has already been in Europe. He
was sent with despatched students to Europe (to France). I do not know how was happened
that Mehran had returned to Tehran and had been among scholars of mathematics.
***
The semester and courses began.
In the first or second week, I do not remember exactly, a young joined our group, according to
Saadi “spokesman, wise, sweet-spokeman and articulate”.
2
After the graduation from high school, he had studied medicine for some years and then had
joined mathematics and had gone to Europe to study. I do not know why he had also returned
to Iran. He had noble and lovely face, grace words and sweet-spoken, demure and at the
same time magnanimous behavior and above all, predominance which he showed and had in
courses, made him shortly the luminous in circle of friends.
He was Mohsen Hashtroudi.
In that year, three of my friends and I studied and worked with each other and we mostly read,
studied and discussed in our houses and when we got tired, we entertained ourselves with
chess. Someday, I invited Hashtroudi to join us. He said: “how is chess useful? Man must
play with stars in the sky.” It was a sample of his mentality.
***
In 1932, he garduated from Dar al-Moalemin and in order to continue his study, he started
on a journey to Europe. Four or five years later, he returned with PhD degree from Sorbonne
University and imparted in an institute that according to English it was his “almamater” and
as we say, it was his spiritual mother.
I speak nothing about his scientifical works, since others have said.
In 1941 due to my insistence, he and a number of academic teachers, who were Daneshsara
Aali alumni (such as: Dr. Kamal Jenab, Dr. Mohammad Monajemi, Dr. Taghi
Hourfar, ...) accepted my invitation to membership of Daneshsara Aali Alumni Society. On
that time, Daneshsara Aali Alumni Society was adjoint and aid for the Culture Ministry away
from political scuffle and the society was confered in many affairs and contributed in many
projects and was respected by the Culture Ministry.
Again due to my insistence, Dr. Mohsen Hashtroudi who had become the president of the
society, became also the head of high school teaching department. About 1951, he undertook
the chancellorship of Tabriz University. For some time, he became the head of science faculty
in Tehran University. But none of these is discussed by me. I speak about a noble man, about
a person whose vacancy will not soon fill in our society that is unfortunately with this respect
poor. I speak about a person who had always remained demure and submissive despite of his
eminency in science and society (he was university teacher and indeed professor, namely, he
had one of the beloved position in developed countries). He was professor in mathematics,
but he had also profound knowledge in literature, he was philosopher namely he knew well
philosophy, he wrote well and composed also well poems. He was dexterous in other sciences
too, he was a comprehensive man and he supported his friends and indeed he was their
scientific support. If they asked him anything that he could do, he did not stint to do that.
In the last years of his life, the mourning of his older daughter's death made him recluse. A
severe heart rending grief lessened his energy and eventually the light which could remain
still luminous for years and made our needy society light, kept silent.
His rememberance would survive with his friends, his students and in hearts of those who
knew him until they live.
In my opinion, he can be a great pattern for youths who are much more fervent to home. He
did not stop even for an instant to learn. He was one of those who learned until the end of life
and taught. He was active and had dominant over knowledge of his time.
May we learned him.
Peace be to his departed spirit and May he be ever remembered.
1 Ahmad Birashk (1907-2002):Author of a comparative calendar of the Iranian, Muslim lunar, and Christian eras
for three thousand years: 1260 B.H.-2000 A.H./639 B.C.-2621 A.D.
Ahmad Birashk founded Hadaf Educational Group (Goruh Farhangi Hadaf) a pioneering private educational
complex in 1949-50 with a number of well-known high school teachers of mathematics and natural sciences,
including Ahmad Anwari, Taghi Hourfar, Ali Motemadden and Ahmad Reza Gholi-zada. The main objective
of the Group was to offer high quality education from elementary to high school, comparable to that of
American preparatory schools.
2Abu-Mohammad Moslih al-Din bin Abdollah Shirazi, Saadi Shiraz was one of major Persian poets of the
medieval period.
Translated by Fariba Elliee
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