A traveller notices a different town’s address on a souvenir delivery carton. A conversation with its maker separates the place of manufacture from a meaningful local connection.
01Read the Arabic story
تَذْكَارٌ مِنْ بَلْدَةٍ أُخْرَى
فِي آخِرِ يَوْمٍ مِنْ رِحْلَتِي، وَقَفْتُ أَمَامَ دُكَّانٍ يَبِيعُ أَوَانِيَ فَخَّارِيَّةً. أَعْجَبَنِي وِعَاءٌ صَغِيرٌ تَحِيطُ بِهِ رُسُومُ نَوَافِذَ زَرْقَاءَ. قَالَ الْبَائِعُ: «هَذَا عَمَلٌ مِنْ بَلْدَتِنَا». فَهِمْتُ أَنَّهُ صُنِعَ فِي الْحَيِّ الْقَدِيمِ الَّذِي زُرْتُهُ صَبَاحًا. وَكُنْتُ أَبْحَثُ عَنْ هَدِيَّةٍ تَحْمِلُ ذِكْرَى الْمَكَانِ، لَا عَنْ قِطْعَةٍ جَمِيلَةٍ فَقَطْ.
بَيْنَمَا كَانَ يَلُفُّ الْوِعَاءَ، لَاحَظْتُ عَلَى صُنْدُوقِ التَّوْرِيدِ عُنْوَانَ وَرْشَةٍ فِي بَلْدَةٍ مُجَاوِرَةٍ. سَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ هَذَا الِاخْتِلَافِ، فَقَالَ إِنَّ صَاحِبَ الْوَرْشَةِ نَشَأَ هُنَا. لَمْ تُجِبْ هَذِهِ الْمَعْلُومَةُ عَنْ سُؤَالِي كُلِّهِ؛ فَمَكَانُ نَشْأَةِ الصَّانِعِ لَيْسَ بِالضَّرُورَةِ مَكَانَ صِنَاعَةِ الْقِطْعَةِ. لَمْ أُرِدْ أَنْ أَتَّهِمَ الرَّجُلَ بِالْخِدَاعِ قَبْلَ فَهْمِ مَا يَقْصِدُهُ، لَكِنَّنِي لَمْ أَشَأْ أَنْ أَنْقُلَ إِلَى أُخْتِي وَصْفًا غَيْرَ دَقِيقٍ. وَطَلَبْتُ أَنْ أَتَحَدَّثَ إِلَى الصَّانِعِ قَبْلَ أَنْ أَدْفَعَ الثَّمَنَ.
اتَّصَلَ الْبَائِعُ بِهِ، فَأَرْسَلَ الصَّانِعُ صُوَرًا لِوَرْشَتِهِ وَدَفْتَرِ رُسُومِهِ. أَوْضَحَ أَنَّهُ انْتَقَلَ لِأَنَّ الْإِيجَارَ أَقَلُّ، وَأَنَّهُ يُشَكِّلُ الْأَوَانِيَ وَيَحْرِقُهَا فِي الْمَكَانِ الْجَدِيدِ. أَمَّا الرُّسُومُ فَأَخَذَهَا مِنْ نَوَافِذِ بَيْتِ جَدَّتِهِ. وَظَهَرَ فِي الدَّفْتَرِ رَسْمٌ لِنَافِذَةٍ تَعَرَّفْتُ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ جَوْلَتِي، إِلَى جَانِبِ تَعْدِيلَاتٍ أَدْخَلَهَا عَلَى شَكْلِهَا.
قُلْتُ لِلْبَائِعِ إِنَّ صِلَةَ الصَّانِعِ بِالْبَلْدَةِ مَعْنًى يَهُمُّنِي، لَكِنَّ الْعِبَارَةَ الْقَصِيرَةَ أَعْطَتْنِي انْطِبَاعًا آخَرَ. لَمْ أَعْتَبِرِ الْعُنْوَانَ دَلِيلًا عَلَى انْعِدَامِ هَذِهِ الصِّلَةِ، كَمَا لَمْ أَعْتَبِرِ الرَّسْمَ دَلِيلًا عَلَى صِنَاعَةٍ مَحَلِّيَّةٍ. اقْتَرَحْتُ بِطَاقَةً تَذْكُرُ اسْمَ الصَّانِعِ وَمَكَانَ الْوَرْشَةِ وَمَصْدَرَ الزَّخْرَفَةِ، فَكَتَبَهَا الْبَائِعُ وَوَضَعَهَا مَعَ الْوِعَاءِ.
اشْتَرَيْتُ الْقِطْعَةَ بَعْدَ أَنْ اتَّضَحَتْ لِي حِكَايَتُهَا، وَاحْتَفَظْتُ بِالْبِطَاقَةِ لِأَشْرَحَ الْهَدِيَّةَ لِأُخْتِي. وَقَبْلَ أَنْ أُغَادِرَ، رَأَيْتُ الْبَائِعَ يَكْتُبُ بِطَاقَاتٍ لِلْأَوَانِي الْبَاقِيَةِ. لَمْ أَعْرِفْ إِنْ كَانَ سَيُغَيِّرُ طَرِيقَةَ كَلَامِهِ مَعَ كُلِّ زَبُونٍ، وَلَكِنَّنِي شَعَرْتُ أَنَّ سُؤَالِي تَرَكَ أَثَرًا صَغِيرًا عَلَى طَرِيقَةِ عَرْضِهَا.
Show English translationHide English translation
On the last day of my trip, I stopped at a shop selling pottery. I liked a small bowl surrounded by drawings of blue windows. The seller said, “This is work from our town.” I understood that it had been made in the old quarter I had visited that morning. I was looking for a gift that carried a memory of the place, rather than just a beautiful object.
While he was wrapping the bowl, I noticed the address of a workshop in a neighbouring town on the delivery carton. I asked him about this difference, and he said the workshop’s owner had grown up here. That information did not fully answer my question: where the maker grew up was not necessarily where the object was made. I did not want to accuse the man of deception before understanding what he meant, but I did not want to pass an inaccurate description on to my sister. I asked to speak to the maker before paying.
The seller called him, and the maker sent photographs of his workshop and sketchbook. He explained that he had moved because the rent was lower, and that he shaped and fired the pottery at the new location. The drawings came from his grandmother’s windows. The sketchbook showed a drawing of a window I recognised from my walk, alongside changes he had made to its shape.
I told the seller that the maker’s connection to the town mattered to me, but the short phrase had given me a different impression. I did not consider the address proof that this connection did not exist, just as I did not consider the drawing proof of local manufacture. I suggested a card naming the maker, workshop location and source of the decoration. The seller wrote it and put it with the bowl.
I bought the piece after its story had become clear to me, and kept the card to explain the gift to my sister. Before leaving, I saw the seller writing cards for the remaining bowls. I did not know whether he would change how he spoke to every customer, but I felt that my question had made a small difference to how he displayed them.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| أَوَانِيَ فَخَّارِيَّةً | pottery vessels |
| صُنْدُوقِ التَّوْرِيدِ | the delivery carton |
| نَشْأَةِ الصَّانِعِ | the maker’s upbringing |
| بِالضَّرُورَةِ | necessarily |
| يُشَكِّلُ | shapes |
| وَيَحْرِقُهَا | and fires them |
| تَعْدِيلَاتٍ | modifications |
| انْطِبَاعًا | an impression |
| الزَّخْرَفَةِ | the decoration |
| أَثَرًا صَغِيرًا | a small effect |
03Check your understanding
Choose one answer for each question. Separate direct evidence from assumptions and compare the characters’ interpretations. Open the English support if you need help.
What to remember
- An object’s place of manufacture and its maker’s connection to a place can tell different parts of its story.
- A short sales description can mislead even when part of it has a reasonable explanation.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
Lakinna and Lakin in Arabic: Two Patterns for But
لَكِنَّ الْعِبَارَةَ الْقَصِيرَةَ أَعْطَتْنِي انْطِبَاعًا آخَرَ
Follow the qualification that separates a valued connection from a misleading impression.
Purpose Li in Arabic: How to Say “In Order To”
لِأَشْرَحَ الْهَدِيَّةَ لِأُخْتِي
Identify why the narrator keeps the information card.
