Making Do Without Tajrish

You will have to forgive the way my pictures are layed out on this post. I struggled with it for an hour, having to redo the photo uploads tens of times, and finally gave up. If you like to see any of these pictures in detail, just click on it.

Absent the possibility of going to Tajrish for my Nowrooz shopping today, I went to Target to buy some items for my Nowrooz spread. I bought an egg coloring kit. Continuing on my "solo" weekend theme, I stopped to have lunch by myself.

I then went to Albany to visit with one of my oldest and dearest friends in this area. Her name is Monir Zand and she runs a very successful deli/store, specializing in Middle-Eastern foods. Around Nowrooz in this area, Zand Market is the place to visit! She has a good selection of all things Nowrooz, which she has lovingly put together in anticipation of her friends. Monir is one of the nicest, most generous, and bravest women I have ever known. Her beautiful daughter, Arezoo, helps her out these days and Monir can't stop talking about how grateful she is for all that help.

After I finished shopping for my rather extensive shopping list, and as I waited for Monir to come have a cup of tea with me, I sat at a table watching all the Iranians who came through to do their shopping. It was really relaxing and joyful to be observing people, I am glad to report.

These are three generations of Shirazi's. The grandmother spoke Farsi with the sweetest Shirazi accent. Her daughter is married to an American, and that is half-Iranian-half-American Kian in the stroller, a very good baby, indeed.

There was a large assortment of Nowrooz sweets and candy. My personal favorites are the ones Monir and Arezoo made. When I got home, I had to tell the boys to stay away from the box containing the goodies, for without a warning, they would leave nothing until Wednesday night!

So, these four guys are college students who live in the area. I knew Mojan, who is Ala Hazrat's friend at San Francisco State University. The other three go to Vista College, De Anza College, and UC Berkeley. Yes, you guessed right, I was fozool and asked them a lot of questions. A wonderful bunch of smart young people. Mojan is an artist who plays the Ney beautifully.

These three lovely women were a highly educated and professional grandmother, Tahereh, her lovely daughter, Haydeh, and the sweetest little grandchild, Sheida, who is named after her great grandmother! Sheida danced for us in the middle of the shop, too!

This man and his baby, Kian (yes, two Kians in one place), were doing some "manly" shopping for Nowrooz! Kian so wanted to have my camera!

Zand Market's gorgeous Haft Sin spread.

And so, I have everything I need, except for the goldfish. I end my weekend feeling accomplished in some areas, and mentally refreshed. I apologize again for the format of this post. I know it's a mess, but I couldn't forego the pictures. Have a good week ahead y'all.

Simin Behbahani's Night

My friend and I went to Stanford tonight to attend an award ceremony, honoring Iranian poet, Simin Behbahani. The event was co-hosted by Dr. Abbas Milani of Stanford's Iranian Studies and Bita Daryabari (formerly Kordestani), whose "Bita Prize for Literature and Freedom" went to Ms. Behbahani. I hope you don't think I'm showing off! But I thought you might appreciate seeing the pictures of very interesting and famous people in attendance. I am exhausted now, so I'll write a better post tomorrow. Goodnight.

Hadi Khorsandi, poet, satirist, and comedian. Shahrnush Parsipoor, author. Dr. Abbas Milani, scholar and author. Simin Behbahani, poet. Simin Behbahani with Ostad Zolfonoon, master Tar player and composer.

Maestro Loris Tjeknavorian, composer and wold music conductor.

Iran: A Cinematographic Revolution

This is the documentary I went to see last weekend. I use the movie poster for their San Diego showing because, a) I am ashamed to say that Berkeley Lecture Series (in which I am a member) did not have a flyer for the event (nor any other event it organizes), b) The Persian Club of San Diego invited and paid for Mr. Takmil Homayoun’s trip to USA, so they deserve the original credit, and c) my little niece is so active and involved in PCC in San Diego, so this is my “thank you” to her for being such a cool Iranian. If you can go see this movie, or if you can buy it on DVD (it is available for sale), please do so. It is a delightful journey through Iranian movies before and after the Islamic Revolution, and how they have influenced the Iranian society, or vice versa. The interviews are simply delightful, and hearing Iranian directors talk about their trials and tribulations of making movies in Iran is fascinating. The part about the Iran-Iraq War and movies made during that era simply made me and my friend Kathy cry. Takmil Homayoun himself is a very witty and personable man, who made us laugh in delight during the questions and answers period. See it.

Iranian Time Zone (Add 1.5 Hours to Everything)

What is with Iranians and always being late to EVERYTHING? Forget about being "fashionably late," though even that phrase refers to undisciplined morons! Many of us seem to have no respect for time, neither ours nor others'. We show up late to dinner parties, appointments, and events. Iranian events always get started an hour or more later than the scheduled time to accommodate the latecomers, or maybe the organizers and performers (being Iranians themselves, too)! I think the procrastinating Iranians might be thinking about the earth's life of millions of years or that 3,000+ year Iranian history, comparing all other time references with them, thinking "what is 2 hours in the overall scheme of things?" I hate it when I have to wait for people, and I hate it more when I keep people waiting. Punctuality is a good trait. Even more than showing respect for others, it shows that we have respect for ourselves and for our time. I am really grouchy with a certain Iranian right now.