The Iranian Features
August 2-6, 1999 / Mordad 11-15, 1378
Today
* Mytholgy: Unwanted
battle
Recent
* Home:
Rice, Iranian style
* Identity: Bukhara blues
* Fiction: The night
before
* Language: Chew on this
* Cover
story: Mission accomplished
* Fiction: Last contact
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Friday
August 27, 1999
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
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Thursday
August 26, 1999
Home
Rice, Iranian style
For the staunch feminists out there, do not read on
By Sally Amir
August 26, 1999
The Iranian
Ingredients
- 1 large sac Basmati long grain rice
- 1 glass oil
- 1 large family spread well across the world
- 1 Iranian husband
- A sprinkling of humor and tolerance and a kilo of pragmatism
- Salt
- Water
- Saffron (preferably purchased in Iran by concerned mother-in-law who
is unsure whether son is ever fed anything, let alone rice the way she
cooks it)
For me, having an Iranian husband means cooking rice every night no
matter what my day has been like. Dinner without polo is not dinner. Rice
cooked in a rice cooker or in a way other than the proper way, is not good
enough ... GO
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Wednesday
August 25, 1999
Identity
Bukhara blues
Layers of history one on top of another
By Shahriar Zahedi
August 25, 1999
The Iranian
His name is Mahdi Ibodov. To us, he could be Mehdi Ebadzadeh, or Ebadpoor.
Who knows what would have been?
His face, darkened and weathered by the intense rays of the steppe sun,
is an amalgam of racial features; Turkman, Iranian, Hindu, Greek, Uzbek,
Tajik, Maybe even the Arab has contributed to his make up. This is how
people are in this part of the world. Layers of history are deposited one
on top of another, each group dominating and at the same time embracing
the one that came before it ... GO
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Tuesday
August 24, 1999
Fiction
The night before
"Nowhere else would I see the color of Tehran's mornings"
By Gina B. Nahai
August 24, 1999
The Iranian
Excerpt from Gina B. Nahai's Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith
(p. 206). The novel spent twelve weeks on the Los Angeles Times
Bestseller list, including two weeks at #1. It has been released in
the U.S., England, Greece, Norway, and Italy, and is being translated into
six other languages.
I searched for a keepsake I could take to America. Looking around, I
realized that I shoudl have gathered Roxanna's belongings long ago, that
I should have locked everything away so no one could walk in on her memories
after I was gone. I saw the box where Roxanna had saved Mercedez's address,
quickly took the envelope, and shoved it into my dress pocket ... GO
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Language
Chew on this
The origins of aadaamss
By Pedram Missaghi
August 24, 1999
The Iranian
I had no idea the word "aadaamss" comes from an old American
brand name: Adams chewing gum.
The story is similar to "Kleenex", which is also commonly
used in Iran to refer to paper tissues. In the case of chewing gum, the
Adams brand was the first of its kind and thus people went on to call it
by that name. (Remember aadaamss-e khorus neshaan?) ... GO
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Monday
August 23, 1999
Cover story
Mission accomplished
Traveling to Turkey to bring my daughter & visit Rumi
Written and photographed by Jahanshah Javid
August 23, 1999
The Iranian
I have been in Turkey for only a few hours. I already like the people.
They are very proud of their Turkish heritage, but they don't consider
themselves racially superior. They don't pretend they are the best in everything.
They are very much down to earth.
I cannot understand the virtual worship of the founder of modern Turkey,
Kemal Ataturk. Not all of it is propaganda. People simply love the man.
He is revered more than Mohammad. I think even God is jealous.
I take a room in the first hotel I see. A single room with shower and
TV costs about $50 -- too much, apparently ... GO
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