Kader Abdolah - The King

During his visit to the villages around Isfahan he noticed that the villagers were gathering round the telegraph poles and debating with each other. How could a handful of poles and a few cables cause such a commotion?

‘It’s a miracle. They put your words in the cable, and in a flash it gets sent to the other side of the world.’

‘What words do they send?’

‘English words, I think, or Russian ones.’

‘What about Persian words, then?’

‘I don’t think it works with Persian.’

‘It’s orders from the king of England. He says something and then they send it out to the whole world through these cables.’

‘Can our king use the cables, too?’

‘I don’t think so.’

‘Why not?’

‘They’re not for us. The cables belong to the British. The shah has only leased out the land to them to put their poles in.’

The peasants admired the shah for his wisdom, and the shah made it seem as if he was riding along the telegraph route to inspect the operations in person.

When it came to the telegraph system Sheikh Aqasi was of the same mind as the shah’s mother.

‘The British have laid more than two thousand kilometres of cable across our country,’ she said. ‘They’ve chopped down thousands of trees to make telegraph poles. Are they doing this for our benefit? No, they’re marching down our back in order to reach India faster. Why are we letting them do this? I asked this question once, and I’ll keep on asking it until I get an answer.’

‘Mother, you’re forgetting that England was in possession of the south. We had to negotiate. You have to see this collaboration on the telegraph project as a symbol of the changing times,’ said the shah, and he ended the discussion.

The cables were laid with incredible speed. The British had gas lanterns, which meant that the work could go on all night. When people got up in the morning they saw that the workers were already hundreds of poles further along.

When the telegraph headquarters in Tehran was finished, Sir John Malcolm asked the shah to officiate at the opening. The shah was extremely pleased with the invitation. He rode to the ceremony with his attendants and his cannon. A group of Indian army musicians welcomed him with a jolly victory march. Sir John received the shah, took from his inside pocket a piece of chocolate wrapped in gold paper, and gave it to Malijak.

The entrance to the headquarters was decorated with Persian wall tapestries as well as British flags. Beneath the admiring glances of the distinguished guests, Sir John gave a speech in Persian in which he praised the shah for his exceptional cooperation and his friendship with the British royal family. He handed the shah a pair of scissors on a gold tray and invited him to cut the ribbon. This was followed by a tour through the building and past the telegraph equipment.

Over a glass of fresh English tea in the garden of the headquarters, Sir John Malcolm had a surprise in store for the shah.

‘On the occasion of this historic event, England would like to offer a present to the children of the shah — especially Malijak, but His Majesty’s other children may also make use of it, of course.’

‘We are very pleased,’ said the shah.

‘The present symbolises progress,’ continued Malcolm. ‘It is an apparatus that has only recently been installed in the parks of London. It’s meant for children, but it has been noticed that in London it is being used by both children and their mothers.’ With this remark Sir John was suggesting that the present was also meant for the women of the harem.

‘I don’t know what the Persian word is for this apparatus, but in English we call it a “slide”.’

‘We shall see,’ said the shah, and he looked around to see if the apparatus was in sight.

‘The present will be delivered to the palace.’

The next week two large carts carrying elongated objects arrived at the palace. A British engineer and five Indian technicians had made sure the large iron plates were not damaged as they were being transported over the bumpy streets. No one knew what the shining plates were for, and everyone began making wild guesses: ‘Maybe they’re parts of a telegraph.’

‘Looks like the shah is getting a telegraph of his own.’

‘This has nothing to do with a telegraph. I think the iron plates are meant to replace the wooden gate of the palace.’

‘If they carried these big pieces of iron all the way through the country, it must be something important.’

The shah had decided to have the present placed in the harem, for if the women of London could enjoy it, the women of the harem could entertain themselves with it as well. In the meantime he had come up with a Persian name for the apparatus, an almost literal translation of the English word ‘slide’: ‘ sor-soreh ’. A nice discovery, he thought — a word that describes exactly what the apparatus does. ‘Sor-soreh: you slide and you keep on sliding.’

All the women of the harem were sent on a pilgrimage to the tomb of the holy Abdoldawood. When they returned late that evening the shah was going to surprise them with his sor-soreh.

The British engineer and his Indian assistants spent a whole day completing their work. They anchored the gigantic slide firmly to the floor and secured it to the walls with iron cables. It was as solid as a house. When all was ready the engineer tested the slide by climbing up the steps and sliding down himself. He was followed by the five giggling Indians.

The present was ready for use and the shah was extremely pleased with this extraordinary piece of British equipment. He gave three gold coins to the British engineer and one apiece to the Indians. Now he was standing all alone beside the massive slide. He had a number of mattresses placed at the lower end. Standing with arms akimbo he cast a glance at his sor-soreh. It was perfect. With great care he climbed to the top, sat down and slid solemnly to the bottom.

‘Fantastic!’ he said, landing gently on the mattresses.

He waited impatiently for the women to return. The shah received them with a lantern in his hand, and they wondered why all the lights in the harem had been extinguished.

‘Ladies,’ he shouted proudly, ‘the sor-soreh awaits you. Follow me!’

Leading the way he opened the door of the harem. ‘After you, ladies!’

The women went inside. By the light of that one lantern, and with the shadows caused by the reflection of the light on the surfaces of the slide, all the women could see was a mysterious monster in the middle of the harem. An extra lantern was brought in. Malijak appeared at the top of the slide, and to everyone’s astonishment he slid to the bottom, crowing with pleasure, and flopped onto the mattresses. The shah left the women and went outside.

Behind him he heard his wives screaming and laughing. Two big tears of happiness rolled down his cheeks. ‘Maybe it’s time we took that trip to England,’ he said to Malijak, who was pulled away from the slide with difficulty.

The telegraph cables were now running straight through the country on thousands of poles. They were a marvellous addition to the mysterious landscape. The Russians, who had drawn up a treaty with the British during the war in Herat and had left the shah high and dry, had not expected England to be ready with such an elaborate plan for Persia.

The silent power struggle between Russia and England had been won by the British. And once the railway was built from the Persian Gulf to India, the Russians would never be able to catch up. So they did all they could to thwart the construction of the British railway. They hinted to the shah that they, unlike England, were willing to give Persia its own national railway network.