Note: Within first the Iranian and then the Russian folklore, Gamayun is the symbol of knowledge and wisdom. In the myth, she appears in the form of a prophetic bird, who resides on a lonely island situated somewhere in the east. As she knows everything about the true nature of human beings, gods, creation, and eternity, her prophecies are divine and magical – though difficult to comprehend and understand.
The night is silent and Gamayun sits atop a lonely rock, looking down on a landscape of magical lights and dark smoke. A gentle breeze is blowing from the northeast, carrying faint shades of some long-lost and ancient fragrance.
Suddenly, she senses a presence – there is someone beckoning her attention from the shadows. Gamayun raises her hand and commands:
‘Come forth! O child of misery and gloom;
step forward and seek, even if it is your doom
Come forth! O dweller of grey desolation;
Beg for wisdom, if it’s of any consolation
The presence crawls forward, his tired knees digging deep grooves in the sand. He grabs hold of Gamayun’s feet and cries his heart out:
‘O Gamayun! The wise and the knowledgeable;
here I am, laying all my cards on the table
O Gamayun! The herald of divine prophecies;
all my dark visions unfolded, terrible atrocities
O Gamayun! Spread your golden wings in the sun;
for I am desperate and making my last run
O Gamayun! Behold my pain and tell me what I ask;
see this darkness, it is very real, it is not a mask
Of all the God’s children, I am the child of autumn;
the failure is so terribly deep, that there is no bottom
I am not alone I know, yet unique in what I need;
I feel like a hollow dead tree, with neither fruit nor seed
It is not that I demand either wealth or riches or gold;
I just beg that my dream be fulfilled, single and untold
It is not that I ask for life everlasting or a great power;
I just implore that my heart be happy, not bitter or sour’
Sensing the man’s anguish and hearing his plea, Gamayun bends down her head and thinks for a while. She carefully prods her heart but finds nothing but dark tidings. She finally raises her head and whispers back:
‘You have come from afar – have my sympathies with you;
my heart weeps for you, yet there is nothing I can really do
Having asked your question, you have unburdened yourself;
your cause is lost, and what to tell you, I am lost myself
Of all the God’s many children, you are the most despised;
He made all his children out of love, all of them prized
You dream in vain, you cry in vain and you beg in vain;
He carved you out of sadness, dark soil, and cold rain
He hates you with a vengeance so very terrible and dark;
His distaste for you is so very naked and so very stark
He looks at you with pity though, the most what He can spare;
you may die or you may suffer, that He doesn’t at all care
Being a child of autumn, it is a dark curse you carry;
you will always be sad and you will never be merry
It is your burden and your fate, how dark it may seem;
abandon all hope, you will never get what you dream’
Up there, sitting on His golden throne, God listens to all and smiles a tired smile. He is the wisest of all and the most powerful. Yet He is lonely because his wisdom goes beyond the understanding of mortals. He looks down kindly upon the child of autumn and his heaving shoulders; and whispers softly:
‘O Child of Autumn – you tread a treasured path;
yet you are blinded by grief, your fate a bloodbath
Of all my children, you are the most blue-eyed;
all my children are loved, you are the most prized
You dream in my way; an immense imagination;
I carved you out of wisdom, foresight, and adoration
I love you with an intensity, so very focused and clear;
it might appear as abstract, but I hold you so dear
I make you feel the pain and the agony of all others;
so you may suffer the suffering of your brothers
Being a child of autumn, it is not a curse you carry;
it makes you all patient so that you don’t tarry
It is not a dark burden, but a blessing filled with light;
with understanding comes wisdom, lofty and bright
Go in peace my child, go and serve the world and life;
you will grow and learn to walk the edge of a knife’
Shehryar khawar 