Children in Kurdistan's Kanda Soora village, February 24, 2008. Photo by Sharooz Sharifinasab, Fars News Agency.I'm home with a dreadful cold. I stayed away from writing last night, simply because between the cold and the medication I had taken, I was sure I would sound delirious and stupid! This is the second day of work I'm missing, canceling long-standing appointments and meetings I really needed to attend. Though I seldom miss work days, my work life just has to wait until I am better again.
Despite the silly cold, my spirits are good (it's simply amazing what a fistful of drugs can accomplish!). In between the drug-induced naps, I am sitting here thinking about Nowrooz. About my huge spring cleaning project,
khooneh takooni, about the cookies and sweets I will have to order, about my
sabzeh, the wheat I will have to grow in my big blue plate, and about helping out a few of my single male friends with their
haft-sin. My calendar has filled up with events and lectures and celebrations all through the month of March and at this moment it feels overwhelming to think about all that I will have to be doing, but I'm sure when the time rolls in, I'll be ready. Is it just me, or is there something really strange, almost genetically instilled, in all Iranians having to do with the last few weeks of winter? Around this time of the year, I feel an awakening, something almost physical, in the way I feel and think and move! I gear up for the season change, for the change of the year, and for all that is dear and important to me in starting a new day,
now rooz. I get filled with memories of Nowrooz's past, my parents and my childhood, and am reminded of every traditional chore my mother used to do around this time of the year. I get excited imagining the fragrance of the hyacinths,
sonbol, in my house, and the colorful tulip pots which soon will be lining my walkway. I feel so very alive around this time of the year. Alive and full of hope. Awake, alive, and hopeful, even with a miserable cold.
Go here to see times for Spring Solstice, tahvil-e-sal, in your part of the world. Courtesy of Bahram Maravandi.
Children in Kurdistan's Kanda Soora village, February 24, 2008. Photo by Sharooz Sharifinasab, Fars News Agency.
18 comments:
We planted a Sonbol in our yard in Berkeley last year after it had died on the haftseen sofreh. Yesterday, I saw that it has come to life again and the purple little flower leaves are starting to show up. It is alive again, and as soon as I saw it, I knew that it's time for "khooneh tekooni" like you said and felt the excitement for the new day (Norooz). I'm so honored to be a part of this beautiful tradition.
thank you for your post Nazy joon
سلام نازی جان
می دونی پست اخیرت من رو به یاد چه انداخت ؟؟
چندین سال پیش من سفری به کردستان و سنندج داشتم ، وای که چه مردم مهربانی بودند
این عکس زیبای تو من رو یاد گروهی مرز نشین انداخت که من تو اون منطقه باهاشون آشنا شدم و دو روز مهمانشون بودم و کلی خاطرات خوب از این دست
شاد باشی دوستم
to Shideh ...
همونطور که می دونین سنبل با پیاز تکثیر می شه و رشد می کنه به همین دلیل بوده که خوب رشد کرده ....
با توجه به اینکه برکلی آب و هوایی مرطوب داره این جور گل ها مثل پامچال و سنبل و ... خیلی خوب اونجا رشد می کنند
من تو باغچه ی منزلمون توی تهران که آب و هوایی سرد و خشک داره مجبورم تمام طول تابستان و پاییز روی سنبل ها و پامچالها نایلون بکشم تا پیازشون نسوزه ...
ولی این خیلی خوبه که امسال نوروز سنبلتون رو خودتون پرورش دادین ...
این برای من که خیلی جالبه شما رو نمی دونم
I dont know if you can read and understand Farsi but if you have problem reading that ask me to translate it into Eng !
Take good care of yourself Nazy joonam. Take lots of rest and don't worry about work. Tell office people that you will happily show up to work, in case anyone there wants to have a taste of the new virus;)))
Salam Nazy jon, I'm so sorry to hear you have a cold and had to miss work again. I hope you get well soon. I think this is a sign telling you take a break. You've been working too hard lately. Take care of yourself.
"Aman az khooneh takooni". The ONLY thing I don't like about nowrooz is khooneh takooni. I believe in neatness and cleanliness but the idea of khooneh takooni is too much for me. I love Iranian tradition but I'm against this one because usually people specially the lady of the house overdo it. They don't recognize their limits and work too hard that by the end of Esfand Mah, they don't have any energy left to celebrate nowrooz. It doesn't matter how much all the members of the family get involve and share the responsibilities, there are always the lady of the house who has the main duties. Well this is my own experience, watching my mom, grandma, aunts, and others.
سلام نازی جون
علیرغم سرما خوردگی شدید.. پستت بسیار با روح و با انرژی مثبت بود.خیلی خاطرات زیبای زیبا با این عکس و با حرفهای قشنگت برام زنده شد مثل یه فیلم که اشک به چشم میاره. به این توانائی ات غبطه می خورم دوست گلم....
جیر جان درست می گه حالا سعی کن خوب
استراحت کنی کارها منتطرت خواهند
ماند
امیدوارم زود خوب شی و نوروز بهتری هم در پیش روی توو همه باشه و من هم بتونم خونه ام رو تمیز !!! کنم..ها ها اند تنبلی!!
راستی من هم گلو درد خیلی بدی دارم 3 روزه.. دکتر کشت داده ولی امشب دیگه نتونستم تحمل کنم و آموکسی سیلینم را تجویزززززز کردم.
:D
.شاد و خوش باشی
مرضیه
Said jaan:
thanks so much for the info. Yes, I can read farsi. You don't know how exciting it was to see the "sonbol" blossom. I didn't know how to protect it really, just thought to try and plant the seed and see what happens.
thank you again and have a great day
گرچه تن تو ز درد خسته ست
قلب تو پر از امید و زنده ست
بخت تو بود بلند و بیدار
گر چه به شبان دو چشم خواب ست
وین قال و مقال تو به هر حال
خیر و خوشی و صلح و سلام ست
در زرد خزان و سردی دی
گرم است دلت،سبز نگاه ست
آنان که بر این سفره نشینند
دانند که فرخنده زمین است و زمانه ست
خندند و بنوشند و بخوانند کاینجا
از لطف خدا عیش تمام است و مدام ست
Nazy jan
I gave myself a break from writing on the subject of the Persian New Year celebration, and navigated to your site. Fantastic! hal-o-havay new year hame jaa hast.
Get well very soon
Shahireh
من یکی از خواننده های نازی هستم، قریب به یک سال میشه میخونم نوشته های زیباشو. نازی یعنی یک زن پر از انرژی و عشق و دوست داشتن. یه دورن مثبت و بسیار بسیار زیبا. اون تونسته به مفاهیم بسیار عمیقی از زندگی و کیفیت زندگی دسترسی پیدا کنه. زیبا و بی الایش می نویسی نازی. امیدوارم همیشه سالم و شاد باشی.
Salam Shideh Jan:
I know about those bulbs! They have a mind of their own and know just when to grow again next year around Nowrooz time or a couple of weeks earlier!
Years ago when we lived in these parts, it was impossible to find hyacinths around Nowrooz. Usually their season was finished by March 21st because of California's warmer temperatures. I am so happy to see that they are now available everywhere. In supermarket flowershops, the hyacinth and tulip pots are now espcially adorned with wheat, gandom, all around, to signify that these pots are prepared for their Iranian customers! It is really wonderful to start seeing them at Safeway in a couple of weeks.
Happy Awakening Shideh Joonam.
P.S. "!" is actually Farshad. I call him Farshad or Universal Farshad or Uni-Far. It's because the sign "!" signifies his belonging to Alef Shin's Universal Dimension (or Cosmic Dimension) dialogue group (http://dialogos.blogfa.com/). He is an exceptional young man, very gifted and compassionate, serving most of the time as his group's representative, though many of them also participate directly. It is a continual honor to be affiliated with this group of exceptionally gifted Iranian engineers and scientists. They are my joy.
Salam Farshad Jan:
Yes, I, too, think people of Kurdistan are some of the warmest and most generous people I have known in my life. I was so taken by this photographer's pictures of that village in snow. I will share some more soon, but if you like, you can go see the lot of them here on Fars News Agency. They are out of this world. Be good Farshad-e Mehraban.
http://www.farsnews.com/plarg.php?nn=M299166.jpg
Salam Jeerjeerak Jan:
Hee Hee, where do you think I got the virus?! Office life at winter time is a vicious circle! My young co-workers who have young children, catch the colds their kids take home, and they bring them into the office! I think everyone with a cold must stay home for 2 days until they're not contageous anymore! But nobody listens to me!
I'm over the worst of it, and now I just have a cough which I think will linger for a while. Thanks for your advice my friend. Be good.
Salam Daisy Jan:
It WAS a good break, actually! I had the excuse of being sick, so I didn't do a lot of work for others, something I normally take on to the detriment of my own rest and health, I know.
I will share a secret with you, Daisy Jan. Before I came back to live in the US again two years ago, I had always had cleaning ladies and maids in my house, taking care of house cleaning and the khooneh takooni. So my khooneh takooni was always done by magic! In the new version of my life, I can only have once-a-month help in cleaning the house. Remember I now live with three young men who really do leave something to be desired in the hygiene and tidiness departments!
I now have to do what amounts to a khooneh takooni everytime I have guests, because the house is turned upside down and inside out by these guys! I don't mind it, though. House chores could be therapeutic if not overdone, especially when listening to mobtazal music and taking a few dance steps in between!
Love you girl!
Poet and Poetic Masoud!
Thank you very much for that original creation! A very sweet and nice poem, thank you! How very lucky I feel to find your comments and poetry in my humble blogs again.
You are really a very kind man, my friend. Have a glorious day in beautiful spring-time Ahvaz. I do miss Ahvaz the most around this time of the year.
Salam Shahireh Jan:
I am honored you came back! Today I used one of your photographs again, ba ejazeh!
Ah, that Nowrooz...it lives inside the very fabric of every Iranian's being, I believe. We can't help it, it seems. I can't wait for Charshanbeh Soori!
Khasteh nabashi Shahireh Jan, and please come back again soon!
(Oh My God! I just realized I don't know how to spell سوشیانس in English!)
سوشیانس عزیز:
I would not have guessed in a million years that you would come to read my blogs! Oh My God! I am so honored! You, the clever and uncompromising visitor of Alef Shin's blogs, the one who is so serious in arguing your points, come to read me? I am honored and puzzled! What could a person in search of knowledge find in my humble scribblings?!
Never mind the answer! Please accept my gratitude for your visits and know that I am delighted to know that you find some affinity with me. I share the same friendship with you, my super-smart friend. Thank you for showing your face to me سوشیانس jan. Please come back again soon.
to Shideh :
that is ok ...
thanks you have a great day too ..
Nazy joonam :
آخ نمی دونی من چند روزی رفته بودم طالقان جات خیلی خالی کلی عکس گرفتم برات سعی می کنم بفرستم چند تاشون رو ...
راستی نازی جونم خیلی ممنون از این همه تعرف من اینقدر ها هم تعریفی نیستم !!
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