The Color of Paradise

A blind boy named Mohammad experiences freedom as he is released from his special school in Tehran for the summer. His father, Hashem, who bears the weight of shame and burden stemming from Mohammad’s blindness, arrives late to pick him up. Despite his efforts to persuade the headmaster to allow Mohammad to stay for the summer, he is met with refusal and ultimately takes his son home.

As a widower, Hashem is intent on marrying a local woman. He approaches her parents, bearing gifts, and receives their approval. However, he tries to conceal his son’s blindness, fearing it would be seen as an ill omen by the woman’s family.

Meanwhile, Mohammad joyfully explores the hills surrounding his village with his sisters, engaging with nature around him. He possesses a remarkable ability to connect with the world using his other senses, as he touches and perceives nature’s rhythms and textures. When he attends local school with his sisters, he impresses both the students and the teacher by reading his Braille lessons.

To keep the truth about his son hidden, Hashem decides to send Mohammad away to be an apprentice under a blind carpenter. The carpenter begins to train him, but Mohammad’s heart is heavy with sorrow as he expresses his longing to see God. He voices his belief that God must not love him for granting him blindness, while also grappling with his teacher’s lesson that God cherishes blind children for who they are. His questions linger in the air—if God loves him more, why must he experience life without sight? He yearns to see God and believes that sensing God should be enough; the carpenter, perhaps moved by Mohammad’s sincerity, shares a silent understanding as he walks away.

As tragedy befalls the family, Mohammad’s grandmother is distraught upon learning of her grandson’s situation. Her emotional turmoil leaves her ill, and despite Hashem’s attempts to persuade her to stay, she departs, accidentally dropping Mohammad’s hairpin into a pond, an event that precipitates her swoon and subsequent death as Hashem rushes to her side. The bride’s family perceives this event as a dire omen, leading to the cancellation of the wedding.

With his hopes dashed, Hashem finally resolves to bring Mohammad back home. The narrative vividly reveals the embarrassment and pity Hashem feels for both himself and his son. Retrieving Mohammad from the carpenter, they journey home through the woods. As they attempt to cross a small wooden bridge over a rushing river, calamity strikes—the bridge collapses, sending Mohammad tumbling into the water. For a haunting moment, Hashem is paralyzed with shock, torn between saving his son and liberating himself from what he perceives as his “burden.” Yet, in a moment of clarity, he dives into the river to rescue him.

Regaining consciousness on the shore of the Caspian Sea, Hashem spots Mohammad lying motionless nearby. Desperate, he rushes to his son, cradling him in his arms while grief overtakes him. As he weeps and gazes towards the heavens, a woodpecker’s sound resonates, the sun breaks through the clouds, and in a miraculous moment, Mohammad’s fingers twitch. Perhaps he is “reading” the melody of the woodpecker with his fingertips, akin to Braille dots, or perhaps in his transition, he has finally made contact with the divine presence he yearned for all along.

Last Updated: November 16, 2024 at 15:28