The Pure Flow
Category: Original Artwork
Calligrapher: SaBa
Illumination (Tazhib): Narvan
Poet: Sohrab Sepehri (1928-1980)
Poem: Let us not muddy the water.
Year: 2023
Size: 14" × 19" (35.56 cm × 48.26 cm)
Materials: Handmade 100% Indian cotton paper, handmade ink for traditional Persian calligraphy, and a handcrafted wooden paddle-shaped pen (chosen over a reed pen due to its broader width).
Technique: Persian calligraphy- Siyah-Mashq, Nastaʿlīq
Passe-partouts: Handcrafted, using the traditional starch-pressing technique for lasting quality and authenticity.
Price: Available on inquiry
Certificate of Authenticity: Each piece comes with a signed Certificate of Authenticity for provenance.
In an age where nature strains under the weight of neglect, consumerism, and human haste, returning to simplicity and to a reverence for life has become not just important, but essential. To pause, to truly see the natural world, is an act of restoration.
The environment is not merely a “subject”, it is the breath of life itself. And life, raw, sacred, and ever-present is the essence at the heart of many of my works.
This verse is a call to return to life in its purest form, uncorrupted, profoundly meaningful, and fully alive in the present moment. It invites us to honor the raw beauty of existence, protect what is sacred, and remain open to what is ever-present.
In nature, there is a quiet stillness, not loud, yet gently stirring to the soul.
A tree that offers shade, a stream that gently flows, soil that patiently nurtures, each holds a silent purity, sustained only through care and respect. But this silence is delicate; like clear water, it turns muddy with the slightest neglect.
In such a space, the voice of Sohrab Sepehri; poet of life, stillness, and nature, softly lingers in the mind:
“Let’s not muddy the water...”
Within this simple yet profound verse lies a quiet invitation; to pause, reflect, and remember our responsibility to what is pure, gentle, and defenseless.
In this piece, the flowing abstraction of the Nastaʿlīq script echoes the poem’s quiet plea, for clarity, stillness, and respect for what remains untouched, like the graceful drift of a calm, untroubled stream.
The composition is intentionally shaped so that the empty space, the silence between the lines speaks with as much meaning as the words themselves.
The flowing gestures, elongated strokes, and soft spacing evoke the essence of water, calm, intentional, and serene, never meant to be disturbed.
Among them, the elongated form of the letter “ب” in Farsi, as seen in the word "آب" (āb, meaning water) takes on a central and symbolic role. It is more than a letter, it becomes an abstract embodiment of water itself. Its soft, flowing curve echoes the gentle ripple of stillness. Within a minimalist and silent space, this line evokes water, not through motion or sound, but through presence, quiet, fluid, and profound.
The placement of each letter mirrors a graceful flow, like droplets falling in rhythm, quietly awakening the stillness of the page.
This work is not meant to be read, but to be seen and felt. It invites a quiet stillness, expressed through the gentle rhythm of ink and silent thought.
Its beauty lies not in noise, but in stillness, in the calm, the quiet, and the space in between.
What unfolds before the viewer is a visual meditation, a tribute to clarity, an invitation to pause, to reflect, and to let stillness keep the waters clear.
Beneath the surface runs a quiet yet powerful message: a call to honor nature, to protect what is still pure, and to cherish the fleeting beauty of a world not yet touched by our haste.