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Diaspora

Music of the heart
Would not it be interesting if some day I find my grandchildren listening to Vigen and Pouran too?!

Setareh Makinejad
September 29, 2004
iranian.com

Tonight as I am sitting in our living-room, with my Spanish textbook spread on my lap, the voices of Vigen and Pouran are penetrating not only my ears, but my soul as well.

These voices are coming from my 15-year-old son’s room! A boy, born and raised in the United States, who has never stepped on Iran’s soil. A teenager who was introduced to Vigen’s and Pouran’s music years ago in our family-room in Lincoln, Nebraska!

Occasionally, when my son gets tired of listening to his American music, he switches to alternative: Persian, Salsa, Greek, etc. The type of music he has been exposed to at home over the years.

The other night as he was listening to Vigen, he started singing along with him in Persian, “.. Ey del-e deevaneh... ” That was quite a historical moment for me! I never would have expected any of my children to understand and appreciate Persian music to the point of reciting the lyrics along with the original singer, and exhibiting a lot of emotion in the process as well!

However, I wonder about the difference of emotions stirred in him and me when we each listen to Vigen and Pouran’s duets. I wish I could get inside of his brain in order to find out how he feels when he hears those beautiful Persian songs. Perhaps I ought to ask him that someday soon.

Tonight, as I am hearing these beautifully sung verses, I am thinking of my childhood in Iran. To me, this music is closely associated with the family parties held at our house, the warmth, the love, the laughter, the jokes, the dancing and the good times.

I am now remembering all the major players in those gatherings who are not with us anymore. The ones who can no longer enjoy any kind of music: my dear grandmothers, great aunts, uncle, and the rest. I can’t say that this music is having a negative effect on me. No, on the contrary, I am far from sad, but simply elated!

I am grateful that my son has given me the opportunity to travel back in time tonight, and to visit some of my joyful memories, which I had forgotten for a long time. An activity which was not part of my study plan for this evening! I am thrilled that we have been able to establish some interest in the Iranian music in our son. Through music, he has one more link to my beloved homeland.

One of my son’s favorite Persian songs is, “Mola Mohammad Jon”, by Pouran! It is my favorite too and I must have played it often when he was younger. I wish I could send a message to Pouran and Vigen in the other world that they will never be forgotten, and their memory will live through the future generations of Iranians.

Music of the heart is timeless and everlasting. Would not it be interesting if some day I find my grandchildren listening to Vigen and Pouran too?! That is possible, but highly improbable. They would probably tell their friends that these are a few of their grandmother’s favorite songs from the ‘old’ country! Imagine that! I hope I live to see this, even though I know I am being too optimistic and unrealistic!

Well, it is time for me to do a reality check and return to studying Spanish by leaving Vigen and Pouran to the younger generation upstairs!

Hasta Luego..

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