Life

Touran Khanom

In the vicinity of Baharestan, the old Parliament, there used to be an elementary school that was a little gem of an establishment. Dabestan-e Farhad opened in 1958 in the building and grounds that had been home to Mirhadi family. Touran Mirhadi—or, as she is universally known, Touran Khanom—was the youngest daughter of the family and the principal of the school. Her old students, some now well into their fifties, still refer to themselves as Farhadi, and are perpetually in quest of establishing contact with each other and their old teachers. For those us living outside Iran, no trip to Tehran is complete without touching base with Touran Khanom>>>

From Shah to Ayatollah

We are approaching anniversary of an extra ordinary event in the history of our nation, which had a profound effect over the lives of every single Iranian in one way or another even if we had no contribution to it. I remember those days that when traveling on the roads, from one place to another, we would encounter mobs of people with clubs in their hands while blocking the road asking you to say “death to shah” so they let you go! Then they put a picture of Khomeini on the windshield of your car after getting what they wanted and before you run into another group of them a bit further. It was a truly unusual scene to see and live in those days in a country, which was considered an “island of stability” in a troubled region, not much earlier!>>>

A National Obsession

The British are greatly influenced by cultures that have filtered into our own culture through centuries of exploration, discovery and colonisation. So it was only a matter of time before I decided to pen a piece that would shine a light on culinary unsung hero of our fair England… Namely, the beautiful and mysterious Eastern treasure that could only be... India... India itself is a cornucopia of culture influenced by different cultures and religions. Even the Persians had a very infamous hand in the history of India and the ‘Parsee’ culture (as it’s now known) is alive and well in India to this very day. The Persians established the ‘Mughal Empire’ which introduced an era of decadence and luxury that was previously little known to India.>>>

حسن نیت؟

((نامه به دکتر محمد مصدق)): آقای نخست وزیر گرامی، مایلم پیش از آنکه شما آمریکا را ترک نمایید، مطلبی را به عرض برسانم. من اطمینان دارم که سفر شما [به آمریکا] بسیار ارزشمند بوده و موجب حسن نیت میان آمریکا و ایران است. ممکن است که سرمقاله امروز صبح در ((واشنگتن پست)) شما را مأیوس کرده باشد. آن سر مقاله منعکس کننده نظر انگلیسی ها در مورد ایران است و به باور من نظر آمریکایی ها را نمایندگی نمی کند. من مطمئنم که مردم و همچنین مقامات آمریکا در نتیجه سفر شما متوجه مسایل بزرگی که برای کشورتان مطرح است شده اند.

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Palestine does exist

It is not just the US politicians who are complicit with the State of Israel’s violence against the Palestinians. Sadly, those of us who read and contribute to Iranian.com and are often so opinionated on every matter and feel so compelled to write about everything that happens in the world, have been complicit with this violence by being silent about the recent Palestinian situation. Unfortunately, I think many of us have tuned Palestine out and frankly the Arab-hating sentiments that have filled our national imaginations do not let us see the pain and hear the voices of Palestinians who are being killed violently by the Israeli tanks or die softly behind the Israeli walls. We refuse to notice as we go on with our comfortable lives, pretending that Palestine does not exist.>>>

For men only

"You mean you would be willing to allow your husband to take on a second or even a third wife while married to you, with the law supporting him in doing so?" I ask. "What’s the problem with that?" She responds abruptly and forcefully. "I am the second wife to my husband." All the women surrounding us on the Tehran metro car are now staring at me. There is something in their gaze, waiting for me to put this woman in her place with a strong and reproachful response. But the woman does not allow me to respond, she continues: "I fell in love with my husband. I am still in love with him. If it weren’t for the law, I would not be allowed to be with him. Even if it is for one day a week, it is legal. This law gives us greater freedom of choice, why should I oppose it?">>>

Memories

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قدیمی ترین رسانه ی گروهی

چهل سال از فاجعه ای که " خودکشی قهرمان" خوانده شد گذشت, هنوز اما " قهرمان" زنده است و پیرامون زندگی و مرگ اش سخن گفته می شود. بسیارند آنان که " خود کشی قهرمان " را باور ندارند و قهرمان را قربانی ستمگری ی استبداد می دانند , و انگشت اتهام شان همچنان به سوی دیکتاتور نشانه رفته است. برخی اما اختلاف های خانوادگی و طبقاتی , و بحران های عصبی و روانی ناشی از آن ها را علت خودکشی " جهان پهلوان "می پندارند. هر دو سو چهل سال است برای اثبات ادعای خود , بر انبوه شواهد و دلایل خود اضافه می کنند.>>>

Reversal of fortunes

Five hundred years ago, global warming helped create an economic down turn in West and Central Asia and facilitated the European economic rise. Today, might we have a case of reverse fortunes, allowing West and Central Asia to get back to where it was before? Andre Gunder Frank and many other economic historians have told us about “ReOrient”ing to China, and that while the Chinese economy has suffered 500 years of recession, it is only natural for it to make a come back and start dominating the world again. But can the same be said for the Near East?>>>

Brightest star

I mourn his loss. There are some people who believe an actor's death should not be front-page news when there are soldiers and civilians who are dying in faraway lands for greater causes. I don't know a single soldier or a single dead civilian. I do know a lot about war. I've read about it. I've written twenty page papers on the roots and causes of international conflict, the reasons for genocide and ethnic violence, the clash of civilizations. Reading and writing about something isn't as real as mourning the loss of something you know>>>

Effortless energy

The truth is I was a bit nervous at first. After all, it is not often that I have the chance to meet a total stranger whose voice has become a part of my every day routine. Odd as it may seem, this one dimensional nature of fame is an inevitable reality for all successful artists including the one I was about to interview. Adapting to increased recognition and celebrity is an adjustment that Arash Sobhani will most likely have to make in the upcoming years because both he and his band Kiosk have gained significant popularity and recognition recently across the US, Europe and Iran and show no signs of slowing down>>>

عمو ناصر!

من همه ماجرای عشقی تو و شهلا را به خوبی می دانم. ناصر! یادت می آید خانه ی شهلا در خیابان ظفر؟ همان جایی که پستان های داغ و هیکل خوش فرم شهلا را به دهان می گرفتی؟ همان جایی که شهلا بساط تریاک کشی ترا آماده می کرد؟ راستی در همه جای خانه با شهلا عشق بازی کردی و به قول خودت چه سکسی هم داشت. آخر می دانی اگر شهلا سکسش خوب بود به خاطر این بود که با تمام وجودش ترا دوست داشت گرچه می دانست همسری داری و شاید به قول خودش هوویی! شما دو نفر سالها با هم دوست بودید. نمی دانم شاید هم زن شرعی ات شده بود نمی دانم! >>>

I HAD a dream

There was still plenty of abgoosht and vodka left when Martin Luther King’s ghost crashed our party a couple of nights ago. His holiday wasn’t until today, but he showed up early because he overheard our debate about US-Iran relations. The subject: does criticism of Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, Falluja, Blackwater, and the Patriot Act somehow excuse or legitimize human rights violations of the Islamic Republic? After all, if it is legal in America to torture in the name of national security, why pick on Iran for doing the same thing?>>>

Women vs. God

In 1936, Reza Shah ordered the public unveiling of women in Iran. The clergy vigorously protested; women of the mercantile middle class stayed home, refusing to appear „naked” in public. Lower middle class and rural women began to work outside the home, most of them in small textile shops. It is the labour of women and children, with their small fingers, which forms the backbone of the carpet industry in Iran. Any benefits relating to housing or childcare which they receive are given not to them but to their husbands. Their working conditions are harsh, with long hours, low pay and inadequate maternity provisions>>>