High in notes and words

This high.
And it's been a while that I am blog-shy. But my senses are so awakened tonight that i can't put my head to rest before i have expressed them. I went to Jalal Zolfonoon's concert of traditional Iranian music. To my non-educated ears the music of the old classical Iranian instruments sound are like conversation, like people speaking, like the burst of anger, like the rush of joy, the heavy sigh of sorrow, and yet the dim light of hope. This music speaks to my heart. And then add to this the beauty of the Persian poetry, and singing. The beautiful old words, the rhymes, the combination, the harmony of meanings and metaphors, the rhythm. The perfect dance of words with notes. This combination awakens all that feels inside me. I feel my flesh shivers with the vibration of the stings in Tar, my heart beats with the beats of Daf, my brain vessels widen and I can literally feel the rush of blood through my brain's vessels. I feel light and dizzy, floating in the air. "I was dead, and now i'm living; I was tears and now I'm laughter; Love touched me, and now I am infinite." My translation doesn't do justice to the beautifully harmonized and powerful words in these verses, but you can get an idea what I'm talking about. I doubt any narcotic can give a person this degree of out-of-the-earth pleasure; this vaz-tarab-akandeh-shodan; this high.

از نگاه یاران به یاران ندا می‌رسد
مرده بدم زنده شدم گریه بدم خنده شدم
ای دل شکایت‌ها مکن تا نشنود دلدار من
تا کی به تمنــــای وصـــــال تو یگـــــانه
بگرديد، بگرديد در اين خانه بگرديد
ای ساربان… ای کاروان…. لیلای من کجا می بری

Stary Stary Night: A tribute to Vincent Van Gogh

Ay Yarum Biya

Music: KIOSK "YAROM BIA"
Video clip: MOSTAFA HERAVI 2009", The Colour of Pomegranates (1968, Sergei Parajanov).
"In this videoclip Mostafa Heravi used and adjusted images of the beautiful film The Color of Pomegranates by Sergei Parajanov (Soviet Union, 1968). Mostafa was inspired by this film and the fact that the song " ey Yarom Bia " ( Ayy Yorum Biyo ) originally comes from the Tajikistan (Badakhshan) singer Muboraksho . Heravi's intention was to create an artistic videoclip that merges the content of the song and film."

More on the video:
Apparently the film, Color of Pomegranates, is a classic. It is a conceptual visual biography of the Armenian ashug and poet Sayat Nova. Read more about it here.

Remembering Esmaeil Fasih

Esmael Fasih has passed away yesterday in Iran. He was a part of my adolescent years. I read most of his books and saw America, Abadan, the old Tehran, the revolution, the war, ... through his eyes and through the characters in his stories. The characters that in many occasions were caught up in the brutality and unfairness of the world we live in today, but kept their faith in the serenity of the humanity, in kindness and courtesy. He was a kindred spirit. May his soul rest in peace.

-Find an interview with him here.

Statement by a group of Iranian bloggers about the Presidential elections and the subsequent events

1) We, a group of Iranian bloggers, strongly condemn the violent and repressive confrontation of Iranian government against Iranian people's legitimate and peaceful demonstrations and ask government officials to comply with Article 27 of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Constitution which emphasizes "Public gatherings and marches may be freely held, provided arms are not carried and that they are not detrimental to the fundamental principles of Islam."

2) We consider the violations in the presidential elections, and their sad consequences a big blow to the democratic principles of the Islamic Republic regime, and observing the mounting evidence of fraud presented by the candidates and others, we believe that election fraud is obvious and we ask for a new election.

3) Actions such as deporting foreign reporters, arresting local journalists, censorship of the news and misrepresenting the facts, cutting off the SMS network and filtering of the internet cannot silence the voices of Iranian people as no darkness and suffocation can go on forever. We invite the Iranian government to honest and friendly interaction with its people and we hope to witness the narrowing of the huge gap between people and the government.

A part of the large community of Iranian bloggers
June 26, 2009

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Dear reader,
If you are a blogger, please post this in your blog too. We might have differences in our views towards this crisis, but we can stay united on condemning the violence and valuing the lives of our people. Let's have our voices heard. (The complete bilingual version)
Thank you.

Bitter

"My dear Mademoiselle, perhaps you have already observed that in Casablanca, human life is cheap. Good night, Mademoiselle."

7 killed in Tehran clashes today(AP) .

The irony is that our former president tried to remedy the clash between civilizations, and the current one sets grounds for a domestic kind. It's a bitter time, dear.

A note to my friends who still don't want to vote

My friend,

I understand that voting is a right, not a duty.
I understand that in this election, and in almost any election in our dear homeland, there are barriers to entry for the type of candidates that you and I approve of.
I understand that you, have put thoughts on your decision of not participating.
And I understand and agree that your decision is personal and others should respect it.

I want to make one last point and I ask you to listen to my argument.
I assume that you and I both agree that our current president is an unsuitable person for the job. But I don't even plea to you to vote in order
to overthrow him.

My argument is this:
Voting is a right, but it is also a civic responsibility. You don't need to be poor yourself to vote for a candidate who want to support the poor. You could have good health and still support facilitation for the disabled. You don't need to be a woman to support women's right. You could be all done with your own academic education, but still stand behind somebody who promotes education. This is my point. You might have come to this decision that YOU don't want to vote under this circumstances. I want to plea to you, that you incorporate others in your decision as well. You and I have a civic responsibility towards them. Here you have a right that many don't. Our underage children don't have a say in politics and our vote will significantly affect them and their future. Some of you have kids, some of you like to have kids in future. You decision to not to vote will influence the future of your own kid. And you know it will.
We have found our ways to live in a place other than Iran, so we are immune from many of the hardships that a bad president could impose. But you most probably still have some people in Iran who you care for and whose everyday lives will be influenced by your voting now.
Voting is a Civic responsibility. Let's be altruistic in our decision, even if it imposes a hardship on our personal judgment. Please vote.

Live proud.
Vote.