Saideh Ghods , author and philanthropist, says that she grew up listening to her mother recite Rumi s poetry at bedtime. Later, she went on to carry out extensive research about Rumi in Iran and the neighbouring countries to satisfy her curiosity about the man whose words mystified and mesmerised believers the world over. Her investigation reveals the unbelievable tale of how Rumi lived and what life was like for Kimya, his step daughter. The author insists that her work is not about promoting the case for women but is more a thorough search through the life of a man and how his choices impacted on the members of his family. Saideh Qods divides her time between US and Iran and is substantially involved in Mahak, a charitable organisation founded by her to help cancer-afflicted children in Iran. Kimya Khatun the original version in Persian, was published in 2004 and in less than four years reached its twenty-seventh reprint. It has so far sold in excess of 80,000 copies in Iran.
