By Sadia Kidwai
A few weeks ago, I found myself wandering through the Omar Khayyam exhibition at the British Library. The exhibition celebrated the 150th anniversary of Edward Fitzgerald’s publication of ‘The Ruibaiyat of Omar Khayyam’ – it was a translation that would spark a cultural phenomenon, gaining popularity in the fashionable ranks of the British elite. These verses, written by a Persian polymath in the 12th century, became a poetic sensation in the Victorian arts scene. Admirers...
