1/04/2008

Keeping Warm

Shams Ensemble performance celebrating the Year of Rumi in Saadabad, Autumn 2007.

It's Friday. We had a major rainstorm in our area today. It was really interesting driving to work with almost zero visibility in rain and fog and awful winds. The storm is passed now and we are left with intermittent rain. No storm ever lasts. It comes and if you are strong enough to stay grounded and not get blown away, it leaves and hopefully you have learned a few things in the process. It feels silly now to remember how nervous I was this morning in my little car, seeing very little and feeling that strong wind working hard to lift me and my car away!

I leave you with a short video clip of one of my favorite music groups, the Shams Ensemble, directed by Kaykhosrow Pourazeri. You can also see an interesting multimedia presentation about them and this concert here.
I wish you all a very happy weekend, full of rest and relaxation near those who matter the most to you. I hope people in Northern Iran receive warmth and relief, too. I saw a picture of a family under a korsi* in Sari (Mazandran Province), which was really sweet. I have vague memories of korsi when I was a young child. It isn't so much what functional purpose a korsi serves, but the fact that in order to use it, a whole family sits in the same room and in close vicinity to each other, feet under the korsi, covered in a huge blanket, therefore talking and eating together. That is the image I carry of a korsi and the warmth I feel when remembering it from my childhood. A family can still come together, sit together for several hours, eat together, and chat (asemoon-o-rismoon). That's what I hope for all of you on this weekend. If you don't have your family around you, get you friends together in an impromptu gathering. Celebrate the warmth of loving hearts next to one another. Celebrate the calm after the storm. Celebrate life. Share a blanket with your kids. Don't forget to smile a lot and exercise those facial muscles. Don't forget that you matter a lot to many. Be good y'all.
*Before heaters and central heating became prevalent in Iran, people used to use a korsi as the main heating device in Iranian homes. It is a low square wooden table with short legs, under which a pit of embers or an electric heater is placed, and over which a large hand-made blanket is spread, around which members of a family sit to keep warm in cold winter nights.

12 comments:

Marzieh said...

نازی جون چقدر زیبا راجع به کرسی نوشتی
من هم همیشه از کرسی خوشم آمده ولی متاسفانه هرگز تجربه اش نکردم.
این جا هم از دیروز خیلی باد میاد ولی به صورت ستورم نشده فعلا!!
جدا خسته نباشی از آن همه استرس رانندگی در طوفان و خوب خوب بخوابی خانوم گل

آخر هفته خیلی خوبی داشته باشی انشالله.
شب خوش!

Anonymous said...

سلام
رانندگی در مه ؟! تجربه ی جالبی بوده نه ؟؟
من هم چند بار تجربش کردم
...
راستی ما در طالقان یه کرسی برای زمستان داریم
وای که چقدر عالی است ...
ای کاش میشد به همه این تجربه رو منتقل کنم ...
یکشنبه ی خوبی داشته باشی نازی عزیزم

Marzieh said...

Dear Nazy do you have power??
:(

Niloufar said...

Did you know I grew up in sari ;)
I really miss korsi and ash reshte :p
Please don't write about this kind of thing Nazy jan ;-)
Have a good weekend

Marzieh said...

سلام
می شه بیائی؟ اون جاها چه خبره؟
خدا کنه برق داشته باشین...
:(

Nazy said...

Salam Marzieh Jan! Thank you for your concern. I'm right here, working on a story to post a little later! Thankfully, our neighborhood wasn't one of the many to lose electrical power. The storm was really something, though! Thanks so much for your thoughtfulness. I'll be back in a little while. Keep warm!

Nazy said...

Salam-e-dobareh Marzieh Jan:

Aah, Korsi! I went to a prominent professional's house in Washington DC a couple of years ago. He had a korsi in his "Irani Room," complete with a gorgeous termeh lahaf korsi! It was fabulous.

We got hit with at least three more rainstorms today, but nothing as bad as yesterday's. It will rain here until Thursday, they say.

I had to give a friend aride to the airport today, come back home and leave again to go attend a funeral. Coming back was hellacious. I think I will stay home all day tomorrow until I have to go out to dinner tomorrow night.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend my friend.

Nazy said...

Salam Uni-Far Jan:

Until recent years, I never had to drive anywhere. I have had to learn to drive in less than perfect conditions. I can't say that it has been a bad thing for me, either, as it has increased my independence and mobility. We get a lot of fog from the ocean in these parts and it becomes necessary to know how to do it.

I love Korsi! I have so many wonderful memories of it. My Dad told me that his mother died sitting under the Korsi, having a cup of tea, and talking to him. This always stuck in my mind as a way that I, too, would like to die someday, surrounded by my family and those who love me.

I think Taleghan is wonderful anytime of the year. Be happy Farshad Jan.

Nazy said...

Niloufar-e-Azizam, The Saravi Girl:

Hey, I'm delighted to know that you grew up in Sari. So did sweet Leva! I'm sorry if my post made you sad. I wrote it in a positive and happy spirit, if that's any help! I hope your family and those you care about are safe and warm in Sari. I hope you are having a good weekend my friend. Our storms have been hitting your area now, so I hope you are staying warm and dry.

Anonymous said...

thanks Nazy joonam ...
I hope you live many years ...
more than 200 !!!
you know when I imagine dieing under Korsi I really decide on living in Taleghan !!
be good ..

Niloufar said...

Oh! It didn't make me sad . I was kidding . It was just a "Viar" ;-)
These days are the best days of south california for me . We have a very nice rainy days and i don't think, it is cold but My sister-in-law is not happy with it :P
My family are good .Actually my parents are in tehran now and it is snowing in tehran .But A friend tolf me that they didn'y have bread to eat ...sooooo sad!

Niloufar said...

I totally forgot to say :
Hi Leva jan :)