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Rumi
Mythology
Unwanted battle
Rostam and Esfandiyâr fight against their own best
interests
By Jerome W. Clinton
August 27, 1999
The Iranian
From Jerome W. Clinton's In the Dragon's Claws: The Story of
Rostam and Esfandiyar (1999, Mage Publishers).
For a work that is usually described as one of the greatest stories
of the Iranian national epic The story of Rostam and Esfandiyâr displays
a surprisingly modern skepticism about the values we associate with the
epic. In the world of the Shahnameh, monarchy enjoys divine sanction
and society's most admired virtues are embodied in heroes like Rostam and
Esfandiyâr, yet the story expresses a profound ambivalence about
the demands of heroism, and is sharply critical of a monarch who exploits
the courage and loyalty of his heroes to further his own selfish ends.
The climactic event of the story is the battle between Rostam and Esfandiyâr,
yet the two heroes do not view themselves as natural enemies. On the contrary,
they fight each other against their own wishes and in violation of their
own best interests ... GO
TO FEATURE
Outlook
Rostam & Sohrab
A play in Tehran
An interview with the director Pari Saberi
Hamshahri, August 26, 1999
FULL
TEXT IN PERSIAN
Great film
If you like scary movies, don't miss The Sixth Sense, the story
of a boy who sees dead people walking around and the doctor (Bruce Willis)
who tries to help him. Great acting. very well made ... CLICK
HERE
More Letters
* Too many donuts
Bruce Kermane writes in
response to Leyla Momeny's poems, "Ali
& Mark":
A girl
wanting to say
something profound
but too many donuts
and bubbles from stale
glasses of Coke
left overnight
get in the way.
Who falls
upon the thorns of life?
who bleeds?
* An American in Iran
Larry Rutzell writes: I just
wanted to let you know that I absolutely loved your articles on your personal
travels to Iran [Steven Shaffer's "An
American in Iran", "Mostaqeem",
"Shomaal",
"Passing
seasons"].
I was 14-16 years old (but very mature) and lived in Tehran with my
mom and dad back in 1975-1977 (1354-1355 by the Iranian calendar) It was
fascinating. We traveled from Tehran to Rasht, Ramsar, Bandar Abbas, Chalus,
Karaj Dam, Damavand, Ab Ali, Shemshak, Karaj, Ghazvin, Qom, Isfahn and
Shiraz. What a Country.
In two years we only had stones thrown three times at our large American
made Ford, with license plates that in Farsi said "Service".
But everyone for the most part was extremely friendly.
It has been 22 years now, and I am a travel agent, and I'm yearning
for a trip back. Reading your stories make me believe that it may not be
to bad for an American tourist.
Again, great stories and wonderful pictures.
* Literature: Persian educational seminar,
Berkeley
Zahra Taheri will instruct three hours of classes per week (in Persian),
including reading and analysis of literary texts of various genres, such
as sufi treatises, ethical texts, and essays. Through representative selections
from medieval literary, historical, and mystical texts, we will discuss
the grammatical and stylistic rules in different periods of classical Persian
literature. Date: Sep. 8 - Dec. 15. Time: Wed. 7:00-10:00 p.m. Place: Room
252, Barrows Hall, UC Berkeley. For registration and more information please
call: (408) 377-7789, or ... GO
TO
Books of the Week
* Do
gharib (1998)
Letters from two friends in Iran and abroad
By Farideh Golbou
* Yek
ruz maandeh beh eid-e paak (1998)
Novel
By Zoya Pirzad
* Istgaah-e
aabshaar (1999)
Back when we were just kids...
By Parviz Davaie
* Talkhaak
(1998)
Love story, best selling novel
By Nasser Karami
See more
Iranian books for sale
THE IRANIAN
Bookstore
Video of the Week
Life
and Nothing More
(Zendegi va digar hich)
Abbas Kiarostami's film investigates the aftermath of a devastating
1990 earthquake which killed thousands of people in northern Iran. In many
ways the most beautiful and powerful Iranian film. Directed by Abbas Kiarostami.
Farsi with English subtitles.
THE IRANIAN
Video Store
Copyright © Abadan Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved.
May not be duplicated or distributed in any form
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More
news
CEP Nominates 23-Member Central Council
August
26, TEHRAN (Tehran Times) -- The centrist Construction of Executive Party
(CEP) yesterday announced a 23-member Central Council amid objection from
its allies who said that there should have been an election and not nomination
of the council ... FULL TEXT
Iran will respect legal rights of accused
spies
DUBAI,
United Arab Emirates (AP) - Iran will respect the legal rights of 13 Iranian
Jews accused of spying for Israel and the United States, the foreign minister
said Thursday ... FULL TEXT
More than one million Iranians live in
land of ``Great Satan''
Teheran (dpa) - There are 1.2 million Iranians living in the United
States, the political arch-enemy of Iran for the last two decades and locally
branded as the ``Great Satan'', a Teheran daily reported Thursday ... FULL
TEXT
Iranian leaders warn of new "plots"
TEHRAN,
Aug 27 (AFP) - Iranian Interior Minister Abdolvahed Mussavi-Lari warned
Friday of "new plots" against the government of President Mohammad
Khatami aimed at showing its economic policy was a failure ... FULL TEXT
Green group in drive to clean Caspian beaches
BANDAR
ANZALI, IRAN, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Iranian volunteers combed the
picturesque beaches of the Caspian Sea on Friday in the first major cleanup
launched by Iran's environmentalist Green Front ... FULL TEXT
Oil firmer before Caracas exporters' meeting
LONDON, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Oil markets were slightly firmer on
Friday before a Saturday meeting in Caracas between the three exporting
countries which engineered this year's sharp revival in prices. International
benchmark Brent crude in London was last traded up 19 cents at $20.76 a
barrel after repairing on Thursday nearly all the damage sustained in an
80-cent slide the previous day ... FULL TEXT
Shamlu: 40 years of magic
Tehran, (Neshat) - In this short biography, veteran writer Javad
Mojabi reviews Ahmad Shamlu's life and work ... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN (pdf
file)
Shamlu's not-so proud film career
Tehran, (Neshat) - Shamlu has admitted that years ago he was forced
to write cheezy dialogue for Iranian B movies in order to make ends meet
... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
Make-believe leaders suck too
Tehran, (Hamshahri) - Among the latest books in Iran, Nasser Hamrang's
novel, "Mir Noruzi" is based on an ancient tradition where a man
is chosen as the make-believe leader of a village for 13 days. But (surprise,
surprise) he misleads the people ... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
Haj Qorban residence
Tehran,
(Hamshahri) - The National Heritage Foundation is set to preseve the Safavid-era
Haj Qorban residence in Kashan ... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
Mohajerani may get promoted
Tehran, (Hamshahri) - Heshamt Mohajerani, who is currently the
head coach of U.A.E.'s youth soccer team, has been approached about taking
the top coaching job for U.A.E.'s national team ... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
Poor journalists
Tehran,
(Hamshahri) - The new Azadegan soccer season has just started but the sports
suthorities have not issued new stadium passes for sports writers and photographers.
So many have decided to boycott the games ... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
BBC
Persian Service
For the latest news,
interviews and features on Iranian current affairs ... LISTEN HERE
$ Rate
Updated August 26
Buying: 880-897 tomans per dollar
Selling: 902 tomans per dollar
Source: Sehaty Exchange (U.S.) Tel: 602-595-0777
Mention this code for a better rate:
FA 37 B
Business
news
The Web
Iran
Reza Pahlavi
Lots of photos and documents. A bit too much Java script
(cheh khabareh?).
Beyond Iran
Museum of Contemporary
Art
The San Diego MCA focuses on art created after 1950. At
the official site you can take a guided tour of the museum's permanent collection,
or pick the work of an individual artist
More
web sites
Quote Unquote
Recurrent theme
While there are a number of recurrent themes in the Shahnameh, such as
the immortality of noble deeds, the malignancy and inevitability of fate,
and the persistent hostility and envy of Iran's neighbors, the theme that
underlies all of these is that God prefers Iran to other nations and sustains
it through the institution of the shah.
-- Jerome W. Clinton
"In
the Dragon's Claws: The Story of Rostam and Esfandiyar"
The Iranian
August 27, 1999
Photo of the Day
Rafsanjani
in 1975
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