Now This!

Rastak Ensemble, a group of young Iranian musicians, plays a Baloochi song on stage in Tehran. Look at those beautiful, talented, young people! Simply joyful! (I'll be back yet again!)

Inspired on A Wednesday (Part III)

Last, I want you to look at a slideshow depicting one woman’s story. Her name is Mahtab, and she lives in the Ghassemabad Village of Baluchestan. Her art and trade is soozan doozi (embroidery or needlework). Ghassemabad is a village that has gone through ten years of draught; its men have moved away to find work, and it is now left with a population of women, children, and old people. Mahtab taught her village women how to do soozan doozi, and women of the village saved and continue to sustain the livelihood of the village through this art. Look at her hands and her feet, listen to her voice telling her story, and see her beautiful creations. Don't be sad at Mahtab's story and the story of her village. Be inspired by her triumph over adversities and her life which has inspired and sustained so many, including me on this Wednesday.

Praying For The Dancers

I am off for the weekend. It was a fun and busy week, leaving me feeling somewhat accomplished! This week I received phone calls, emails, and visits I didn’t expect, and they all made me so happy. I know I must sound like a broken record to you all, but I was reminded again that the best things in life are free or don’t cost too much! My kids and I had been experiencing turbulences, so I kept quiet about them for a while. As the black clouds shift around us, soon I will write about them as I have wanted to do a lot. I leave you with images of Baluchi men performing the traditional Baluch dance. You know that in most of Iran, and particularly in eastern Iran (in Khorasan and in Sistan & Baluchestan provinces) there is a dance and dance moves called “choobi” or “choopi,” in which men in a group or a circle dancing together perform movements with sticks (choob). After each dancer performs moves in an independent circle, they come together into a larger circle, hitting the sticks against one another, and hitting the sticks of the dancer next to them, creating a fantastic sound which when added to the music and the moving sounds of the dancers, creates an exciting and invigorating visual and audio treat, charged with energy and joy. It is truly awesome. I dedicate this post to those honest and decent people of Sistan & Baluchestan who have been affected by the Gono storm, and who are now homeless, hungry, thirsty, tired, and worried. Please don’t forget them in your prayers. Have a good weekend y’all and be good.