ASHENA
PAYAM P. O. Box 60613 // Ir vine, California 92602 // USA Tel: 949.451.1440 // www.Ashena.com // Payam@Ashena.com
Volume 26 // Issue 307 September 2014
“A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.” - Khalil Gibran
IN THIS ISSUE p. 04
Publisher: Javad Mostafavi email: payam@ashena.com Senior Editor: Newsha Mostafavi email: newsha@ashena.com Contributing Editor: Ginny Jeffery Published By: Negaresh Business Services, Inc. Address: P.O. Box 60613, Irvine, CA 92602 ISSN 1528-6061 Phone: 949.451.1440 Fax: 949.451.1830 www.Ashena.com payam@ashena.com
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Payam-e-Ashena is Southern California’s Persian Community Magazine since 1989 Payam-e-Ashena is an independent, bilingual, non-political, non-religious journal. Its contents include world and local news, business reports, cultural, social, and economic affairs of the Persian Community in Southern California. Payam-e-Ashena is non-partisan, unbiased, and the choice of affluent and well-educated Persians. It is published on the 15th of each month and mailed to subscribers and businesses in the Persian Community in addition to wide distribution in Persian centers and markets.
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SEPTEMBER 2014 04 CHASING SHADOWS AND LIGHT IN IRAN TRAVEL THROUGH IRAN’S MAGICAL DESERT TOWNS
10 STANFORD’S MARYAM MIRZAKHANI WINS FIELDS MEDAL
IRANIAN-AMERICAN BECOMES THE FIRST WOMAN AWARDED THE “NOBEL PRIZE OF MATHEMATICS”
12 OBAMA’S FAILED FOREIGN POLICY SLATER BAKHTAVAR ON OBAMA’S CHOICES IN THE MIDDLE EAST
14 WORDS TAKE FLIGHT
A PERSIAN CALLIGRAPHY EXHIBIT COMES TO THE SACKLER GALLERY
16 HOW ONE BOOK CAN DO WHAT THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC CAN’T
A TEHRANI YOUNG MAN LEARNS A LESSON FROM A FORBIDDEN STORY
18 IRAN SNAPSHOTS: RIOT IN THIEVES ALLEY, PART ONE ADVENTURE LOOMS FOR AN EXPAT IN TEHRAN’S SECOND-HAND SHOPS
20 PROFILE: PEDRAM PASHA TAHERI WE INTERVIEW THE IRANIAN-AMERICAN FASHION DESIGNER
26 OLDEST METAL IN THE MIDDLE EAST FOUND IN ISRAELI DIG
A COPPER AWL HINTS AT PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN ADVANCEMENTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST
28 COUPLES WITH BIGGER WEDDINGS HAVE LONG-TERM HAPPIER MARRIAGES, STUDY FINDS
DO LONGER GUEST LISTS MAKE FOR WEDDED BLISS?
30 PROMETHEA UNBOUND
A REVIEW OF ATIQ RAHIMI’S FILM, THE PATIENCE STONE
34 THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER ROBIN WILLIAMS A GOODBYE TO THE ONE-OF-A-KIND COMIC
36 DARK CHOCOLATE MAY EASE WALKING FOR PATIENTS WITH ARTERY DISEASE A NEW STUDY SUGGESTS PROMISING BLOOD FLOW BENEFITS
38 HEALTHY BACK TO SCHOOL TIPS EVERY KID WILL LOVE
MEAL PLANNING FOR SCHOOL LUNCHES AND BEYOND
41 FARSI LESSONS
KVON ON HIS CHILDHOOD LANGUAGE STUDIES
CHASING SHADOWS AND LIGHT IN IRAN By Marian Reid
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IN THE GARDEN COURTYARD of Esfahan’s famous Abbasi Hotel, surrounded by 300-year-old caravanserai-style rooms, I was in the company of an Iranian architect. We were discussing my plan to travel to the desert towns of Kashan, Na’in, Garmeh and Yazd.
“Ah those places!” his face lit up. “It’s like chasing shadows and light when you go there.” These words would stay with me during my journey to these towns, where 3,000 years of generations have adapted to the environment to create a unique style of desert living. I started in the beautiful city of Kashan, which sits where Iran’s vast desert, Dasht-e Kavir, begins. Located just 150 miles southeast of Tehran, it’s often overlooked by travellers heading for the big attractions further south, such as Shiraz and Esfahan. Built from unbaked mud brick, the presence of shadow and light was evident from the very moment I stepped into the old city in search of Ehsan Hotel, one of the famous 19th-century traditional houses that were built by wealthy merchants at the height of the lucrative Qajar Dynasty when Kashan was a bustling commercial hub. Most houses have since disappeared but some have been repaired and are open to the public. I walked down a passageway cut into the earth and entered the insulated, private space through a heavy wooden door with two different-sized knockers – traditionally one for women and one for men so the inhabitants could always tell who should answer the door. I emerged about 10 yards below street level into a large courtyard, lush with water gardens, pomegranate trees and tea beds made from raised wooden platforms, carpeted and laid with cushions. Ehsan Hotel was located almost at the entrance of the meandering Kashan bazaar. Once rested in my evocative surroundings, I climbed once more to street level, turned left and followed the narrow lanes directly to its cavernous entrance. The bazaar is one of the most beautiful and authentic in all of Iran – a series of interconnected
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passages and covered domes, perfect for endless wandering. Shafts of sunlight entered through geometric skylights at the center of each vault, creating a smoky haze in front of a bakery where thin slabs of bread were being baked on a bed of small pebbles in a domed oven. The air was heavy with the scent of spices mingling with rose water and dried apricots. It was while wandering the bazaar that I stumbled across the soaring and heavenly dome of Kahn Amin al Dowleh Timche. This grand covered courtyard, built in 1868 as a caravanserai for camel trains, featured a patterned tiled vault rising high above the Kashani shopkeepers who were going about their regular business: making tea, dozing on chairs and carrying carpets. In the corner where the antique sellers resided was a narrow staircase leading up
to the bazaar’s roof. It was worth the climb to witness just how good the Persians were at building with mud. I clambered across the smooth, undulating mud-brick domes, marveling at the design and shapes, and the fact that an entire market was in operation below me with just a few thick layers of earth between us. Back safely in the shadows, I descended a staircase into the depths of the bazaar, seeking out the Hammam-e Khan Teahouse – actually a 300-year-old bathhouse. “There are many bathhouses left in Iran,” the owner said. “But they’ve all closed down. People don’t go to the bathhouse any more.” He explained that it’s too expensive to heat the water, and in modern Iran most people just use their home bathrooms. He inherited the bathhouse from his father, but transformed it into a teahouse in order to make an income. It felt slightly hipster, decorated with 1950s furniture, old ra-
dios and sheepskin rugs, and was a popular place for hookah and strong, cinnamon-spiced coffee. His specialty dish is kashke bademjan, delicious sweet and spicy roasted eggplant stew served with fresh bread. I easily passed a few hours in the cool sanctuary of the teahouse with my apple-flavored hookah, listening to the gentle water fountain and chatting with the owner. Kashan had everything I needed – hideouts, tea beds and an oldworld charm – but I was eager to venture further into the desert. About 120 miles east, Na’in is a small city that spills into the Dasht-e Kavir, the old mud-brick houses crumbling and forgotten in the face of modernization. I could still see the beautiful arched doorways and huge storage pots buried in the mounds of desert soil that once shaped the walls of these houses. Pomegranate trees that would have once been part of a beautiful garden still pushed
THE TIMCHEYE AMIN ODDOWLEH OF THE BAZAAR OF KASHAN IS AN OLD BAZAAR IN THE CENTER OF THE CITY OF KASHAN, IRAN
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through the earth to fruit amid all the rubble. It was only 40 years ago that this neighborhood in the north of Na’in would have been lively and inhabited. But the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the more recent allure of new apartments led to the abandonment of these high-maintenance mud mansions. The town’s life force is a 3,000 year-old water system comprised of subterranean qanats (aqueducts), which bring water from the distant mountains to the desert plains. You can see the path of the qanats by following the large mud-brick badgirs (wind-cooled reservoirs) that appear every couple of miles. The badgirs are one of Persia’s architectural feats – wind is captured in decorated chimneys and sent underground to cool a chamber, meaning that even in the hot desert summer, water can be kept cool underground. Na’in is the only place in Iran where you can crawl under the earth and see the ancient workings for yourself. Local guide Mahmood Mo-
hammadipour, who can often be found in his internet café on Imam Khomeini Avenue, is the man with the key to this world, and the site of access was an ancient rigareh (water-powered grain mill) over 30 yards under the desert floor. “This mill is believed to have been in operation for perhaps 2,000 years, and only stopped being used 50 years go,” Mohammadipour explained as we entered the underground space. I couldn’t help but be excited about crawling through a tiny tunnel on my knees to taste mountain water, here in the desert. He pointed out the smooth grooves on the old wooden door to the mill. “This is where the donkeys passed carrying their bags of grain underground, over and over again.” It was strange to me that this ancient way of life was still going only a few decades ago, and yet the magnificent traditional houses and Na’in’s bazaar – carefully rebuilt throughout so many generations – were so quickly abandoned for modern, smaller homes. “People
are beginning to understand how special these old houses are,” said the curator at Na’in’s fascinating Pirnia Ethnology Museum opposite the Jame Mosque. “They are coming back. I will move back into my mothers’ old house again soon.” On my way through the bazaar I was cornered by a friendly man, dressed in white and covered in sugar. He invited me into his shop and filled my hands with gaz (pistachio and rosewater nougat) before sending me on my way. My next stop was 180 miles east, in Garmeh at the 400-year-old Ateshooni House, a beautiful ancestral three-story structure restored to its original form by local artist Maziyar Ale Davood. Built from raw mud bricks, even the chimneys and decorated balconies were from the earth.
JAMEH MOSQUE OF ISFAHAN IS THE GRAND, CONGREGATIONAL MOSQUE OF ISFAHAN CITY
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Large and rambling, I had the choice of sleeping in one of the large, communal carpeted rooms or having a rooftop cubby-hole where the sunset was all mine. At night all the guests ate together, Ale Davood’s father directing the kitchen to produce traditional dishes such askhoresht-e ghormeh sabzi – a fresh herb stew 8
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with lamb and dried limes. Ale Davood and his brother were both musicians and spent the evening jamming with guests on traditional Persian percussion instruments, including two green clay jugs that were played like drums. Garmeh is a true oasis. Set deep in the desert, a nearby spring has nurtured a lush system of walled gardens where villagers have been
growing their food for centuries. Some of the gardens were abandoned, but the trees still flourished and I picked and ate my fill of figs, sweet dates and blood red pomegranates. This was the place to stop for a while and wash in the silence and light of the desert in the company of a camel and a few goats. The desert kept me for a few more days but eventually I waved good-
bye to Ateshooni’s resident camel and rumbled away from Garmeh in an old yellow taxi. The open plains took me 170 miles southwest to Yazd: the city of wind catchers, and my final stop on this desert jaunt. Yazd’s old city was built on the promise of good air-conditioning – the natural way. The skyline featured a sprawling forest of tall, decorated mudbrick wind catchers, just like the badgirs of Na’in. Each carries the hot desert wind under the earth to meet with a small water reservoir. This cools the air before funneling it into the traditional homes, mosques and markets.
THE JAMEH MOSQUE OF YAZD IS THE GRAND, CONGREGATIONAL MOSQUE (JAMEH) OF YAZD CITY
Yazd is the biggest city in Iran built in this style, and by far the best preserved. Here, the architectural adaptations have been carefully refined over thousands of years to suit modern life, and although ancient, Yazd feels very much lived in. The city’s real charm can be found by wandering the historic neighborhoods and getting lost in the winding lanes. Smooth walls led through archways, deep into the maze of the old city, the sunlight playing with the architecture to create rounded shapes and distinct lines. Soon I was deep in the shadows of a forgotten market, flanked by magnificent Persian mud architecture. I followed the lanes to the 14thcentury Masjid-e Jame (Friday Mosque) to view some of Iran’s most intricate turquoise tilework in the Islamic style, rich with symmetry and symbolism. Down another lane near Khan Square I retreated once
again to a hammam-style teahouse. Also called the Hammam-e Khan Teahouse, this one was more ornate than Kashan’s version, with an interior of tranquil pools, arched ceilings and tile work. Yazd is where Iran’s ancient Zoroastrian religion, founded in Persia 3,500 years ago, is still the most prominent. Because I was chasing shadows and light I ended my journey at the Atashkadeh Zoroastrian fire temple on Kashani Street. The temple is relatively new, built in the 1930s. But inside is the fire at the heart of all Zoroastorians – a flame that’s said to have been burning continuously for 1,500 years.
PRACTICALITIES
A well-functioning bus network makes it easy to get around Iran. A bus runs between Kashan and Na’in daily. To get to Garmeh from Na’in, wait at the eastern roundabout on Valiasr Avenue and flag down a bus to Khur. From Khur there are yellow taxis waiting at the town square that will take you to Garmeh. From Garmeh, Ale Davood at Ateshooni house will connect you with a bus to Yazd. Alternatively you can rent a private taxi. P
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Stanford’s Maryam Mirzakhani wins Fields Medal Maryam Mirzakhani is the first woman to ever win the Fields Medal – known as the “Nobel Prize of mathematics” – in recognition of her contributions to the understanding of the symmetry of curved surfaces. BY BJORN CAREY
Maryam Mirzakhani, a professor of mathematics at Stanford, has been awarded the 2014 Fields Medal, the most prestigious honor in mathematics. Mirzakhani is the first woman to win the prize, widely regarded as the “Nobel Prize of mathematics,” since it was established in 1936.
dynamical systems, particularly in understanding the symmetry of curved surfaces, such as spheres, the surfaces of doughnuts and of hyperbolic objects. Although her work is considered “pure mathematics” and is mostly theoretical, it has implications for physics and quantum field theory.
“This is a great honor. I will be happy if it encourages young “On behalf of the entire Stanford community, I congratulate female scientists and mathematicians,” Mirzakhani said. “I Maryam on this incredible recognition, the highest honor am sure there will be many more women winning this kind in her discipline, the first ever granted to a woman,” said of award in coming years.” Stanford President John Hennessy. “We are proud of her Officially known as the International Medal for Outstand- achievements, and of the work taking place in our math deing Discoveries in Mathematics, the Fields Medal will be partment and among our faculty. We hope it will serve as an presented by the International Mathematical Union on Au- inspiration to many aspiring mathematicians.” gust 13th at the International Congress of Mathematicians, held this year in Seoul, South Korea. Mirzakhani is the first Stanford recipient to win this honor since Paul Cohen in ‘LIKE SOLVING A PUZZLE” 1966. Mirzakhani was born and raised in Tehran, Iran. As a young The award recognizes Mirzakhani’s sophisticated and girl she dreamed of becoming a writer. By high school, howhighly original contributions to the fields of geometry and ever, her affinity for solving mathematical problems and 10
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working on proofs had shifted her sights.
PURE MATHEMATICS
“It is fun – it’s like solving a puzzle or connecting the dots From 2004 to 2008, she was a Clay Mathematics Institute Rein a detective case,” she said. “I felt that this was something search Fellow and an assistant professor at Princeton UniI could do, and I wanted to pursue this path.” versity. In 2008, she became a professor of mathematics at Stanford, where she lives with her husband and 3-year-old Mi rzakhani became known to the international math daughter. scene as a teenager, winning gold medals at both the 1994 and 1995 International Math Olympiads – she finished with Mirzakhani’s recent research further investigates the syma perfect score in the latter competition. Mathematicians metry of surface geometry, particularly within theories rewho would later be her mentors and colleagues followed garding Teichmüller dynamics. In general, her work can best the mathematical proofs she developed as an undergradu- be described as pure mathematics – research that investigates ate. entirely abstract concepts of nature that might not have an After earning her bachelor’s degree from Sharif University immediately obvious application. of Technology in 1999, she began work on her doctorate at Harvard University under the guidance of Fields Medal recipient Curtis McMullen. She possesses a remarkable fluency in a diverse range of mathematical techniques and disparate mathematical cultures – including algebra, calculus, complex analysis and hyperbolic geometry. By borrowing
“Oftentimes, research into these areas does have unexpected applications, but that isn’t what motivates mathematicians like Maryam to pursue it. Rather, the motivation is to understand, as deeply as possible, these basic mathematical structures,” said Ralph Cohen, a professor of mathematics and the senior associate dean for the natural sciences in Stanford’s
“
What’s so special about Maryam, the thing that really separates her, is the originality in how she puts together these disparate pieces principles from several fields, she has brought a new level School of Humanities and Sciences. “Maryam’s work really of understanding to an area of mathematics called low di- is an outstanding example of curiosity-driven research.” mensional topology. The work, however, could have impacts concerning the theoMirzakhani’s earliest work involved solving the decadesretical physics of how the universe came to exist and, because old problem of calculating the volumes of moduli spaces of curves on objects known as Riemann surfaces. These are it could inform quantum field theory, secondary applications geometric objects whose points each represent a different to engineering and material science. Within mathematics, it hyperbolic surface. These objects are mostly theoretical, but has implications for the study of prime numbers and crypreal-world examples include amoebae and doughnuts. She tography. Despite the breadth of applications of her work, solved this by drawing a series of loops across their surfaces Mirzakhani said she enjoys pure mathematics because of the and calculating their lengths. elegance and longevity of the questions she studies. “What’s so special about Maryam, the thing that really separates her, is the originality in how she puts together these “I don’t have any particular recipe,” Mirzakhani said of her disparate pieces,” said Steven Kerckhoff, a mathematics pro- approach to developing new proofs. “It is the reason why dofessor at Stanford and one of Mirzakhani’s collaborators. ing research is challenging as well as attractive. It is like be“That was the case starting with her thesis work, which ing lost in a jungle and trying to use all the knowledge that generated several papers in all the top journals. The novelty you can gather to come up with some new tricks, and with of her approach made it a real tour de force.” some luck you might find a way out.” P P AYA M - E - A S H E N A
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By Slater Bakhtavar The Obama administration’s foreign policy in the Middle East and parts of North Africa has been a series of disasters – at times spectacular disasters – almost since day one. It is ironic that a man who claims to respect the dignity of every human being should have such an egregious record of abandoning people in need of his help, up to and including those specifically looking to him for aid. Of course, a fully comprehensive list of Obama’s countless failures in the region would be nearly impossible, but at the same time one almost need only point to a Middle Eastern country to find an example of his international incompetence.
day after they made this bold declaration, Obama publicly stated that the Green Movement was an internal affair of Iran, not to be commented or acted upon by America. Iranians were devastated, left to fend for themselves by a nation that claimed to stand for the very virtues they sought to achieve.
Things were little better in Syria, where rather than show support for a popular uprising that opposed the tyrannical Assad regime, Obama again turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to those who needed his help. To be sure, no one is claiming that he should have utilized direct military intervention in Syria, which would have been Naturally, no such discussion is complete without dis- an unmitigated disaster, but the leader of the most powcussing the site of some of Obama’s most flagrant failures erful nation in the world has a great many diplomatic to act: the ancient and venerable nation of Iran. In 2009, tools at his disposal. He used none of them. arguably millions of Iranian protesters took to the streets demanding freedom, democracy, and human rights in Military force actually was used in Libya, though in rewhat has come to be known as “The Green Movement.” ality these were merely attacks against the Ghaddafi reAngered by the highly suspicious re-election of then- gime. The irony, of course, is that Ghaddafi had modernPresident Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, this overwhelmingly ized Libya’s economy, implemented social reforms, and peaceful outburst of popular demonstrations has taken begun to work alongside the United States on a limited on a life of its own, standing for the fundamental dignity basis. Ultimately, Libya fell to extensions of the Muslim of a people and their right to self-govern. Rightly idol- Brotherhood and other radical Islamic factions. Today izing the United States for the principles of liberty and the nation is in danger of fracturing, causing instabiljustice that are so basic as to be taken for granted by most ity in important oil regions. And of course, Libya played Americans, the Iranian protesters began emulating their host to the Benghazi fiasco, a foreign affairs nightmare Western counterparts, dressing in jeans and other mod- that continues to haunt Obama to this day. ern U.S. apparel. They even specifically sought help from President Barack Obama, chanting “Obama, Obama, ya In Egpyt, Obama chose to oppose stalwart US ally Hosni ba oona ya bama” in the streets, Farsi for “Obama, you Mubarak, calling for him to step down in the face of proare either with them or with us.” Unfortunately, the very tests against his regime. In this particular case, Obama
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actually became friendly with the Muslim Brotherhood and similar Islamist organizations, only to clumsily attempt to distance himself and the United States from them when he realized that he risked strengthening their influence in the Middle East and North Africa as a result. Iraq has been yet another catastrophe. Inheriting a decidedly delicate situation brought about by the actions of former U.S. President George W. Bush, Obama chose to handle it in one of the worst possible ways: premature withdrawal of all American forces. Now, without the U.S. to hold down insurgency, the radical group ISIS has risen to tremendous and frightening prominence. Well-armed and well-organized, this militant band has forcefully spread across Iraq, frankly humiliating the regular Iraqi army in its attempts to stop them, and undermining U.S. interests in the country after over a decade of war and the loss of over a trillion dollars and
and North Africa. In Saudi Arabia, the administration’s push for radical militarization and arms deals has sent a bad message to America’s true allies in the region, given Saudi Arabia’s support for many terrorist organizations. In Yemen, the Obama administration failed to support a regime friendly to the U.S. that was under severe economic strain, and instead allowed the radical and infamously dangerous al-Qaeda to gain influence and take control of several provinces. In Algeria and Morocco, where the United States enjoys warm relations with friendly regimes, the Muslim Brotherhood has continued to gather power, spurred on by America’s failure to take meaningful steps to stop them. In Azerbaijan, ill-advised U.S. intervention led to an oil deal falling through with important American ally Israel. Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Palestine have all been sites of further failures of Obama’s foreign policy.
Due to Obama’s policy of washing his hands of America’s responsibility to Iraq, ISIS has had free reign to terrorize the countryside. thousands of American lives. Due to Obama’s policy of washing his hands of America’s responsibility to Iraq, ISIS has had free reign to terrorize the countryside. They have viciously persecuted Iraqi Christians, demanding they convert to Islam, leave their homes, or die. Refugees now pour into northern Iraq as a result. Faced with the disastrous consequences of his actions (or rather, his commitment to inaction), Obama has recently conducted airstrikes against selected ISIS targets, but the versatile group has already begun to adapt, and American commanders of the effort admit its long-term benefit is questionable.
It is time for American President Barack Obama to wake up and realize what is at stake. The Middle East and North Africa are extremely turbulent, unstable regions, relations with which are enormously important to the Western world for a variety of reasons, not least of which is the area’s vast oil reserves. The world can no longer afford for a sitting American head of state to botch his interactions with foreign powers this badly. Something has to change, because otherwise, something else is going to give. P
Slater Bakhtavar is an attorney, journalist, author and Of course, as previously noted, there are countless exam- political commentator. He is author of Iran: The Green ples of Obama’s failed foreign policy in the Middle East Movement.
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Words takeFlight IN PERSIAN CALLIGRAPHY AT THE SACKLER GALLERY
Opening September 13th, “Nasta’liq: The Genius of Persian Calligraphy,” is the first exhibition on Persia’s most popular and visually stunning script.
During a prolific 200-year period in the 14th-16th centuries, four master calligraphers invented one of the most aesthetically refined forms of Persian culture: nasta’ liq, a type of calligraphy so beautiful that for the first time the expressive form of the words eclipsed their meaning. “Nasta’ liq: The
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Genius of Persian Calligraphy,” opening Sept. 13th at the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, displays 20 rarely seen masterworks created by the script’s greatest practitioners, tracing its evolution from a simple style of writing to a potent form of artistic expression. This is the first exhibition ever to focus specifically on nasta’liq, which was used primarily to write poetry, Persia’s quintessential form of literature. With sinuous lines, short vertical strokes and an astonishing
sense of rhythm, the script was an immediate success and was rapidly adopted throughout the Persianspeaking world from Turkey to India. The exhibition shows how generations of itinerant calligraphers, bound by the master-pupil relationship, developed, enhanced and spread nasta’liq between major artistic centers.
Chalipa panel of Mir Emad Hassani
“Nasta’liq represents one of the most accomplished forms of Persian art, developed at a time of cultural and artistic effervescence in Iran,” said Simon Rettig, exhibition curator and curatorial fellow at the Freer and Sackler galleries. “In a sense, it became the visual embodiment of the Persian language enthusiastically embraced from Istanbul to Delhi and from Bukhara to Baghdad.” Each of the four masters featured in the exhibitionMir Ali from Tabriz (active ca. 1370-1410), Sultan Ali from Mashhad (d. 1520), Mir Ali from Herat (d. 1545) and Mir Imad Hasani from Qazvin (d. 1615)further evolved the nasta’liq style, intentionally slanting the script for dramatic effect, modulating lines to balance fluidity and discipline, and adding delicate, twisting flourishes. Often attached to royal and princely courts, many calligraphers were the celebrities of their time, and visitors will learn fascinating anecdotes of fame and rivalry. Mastering nasta’liq can take a lifetime, but it remains the most popular form of Persian calligraphy today. A demonstration video in the exhibition, along with calligraphic tools and accessories, shows how techniques developed more than 500 years ago are still practiced by contemporary calligraphers. Primarily drawn from the collections of the Freer and Sackler galleries, highlights include the only known signed work by the “inventor” of nasta’liq Mir Ali from Tabriz, two folios from a collection of poetry by the late 15th-century ruler Sultan Husayn Bayqara and sumptuous illuminated pages from imperial Mughal albums. The exhibition will be on view through March 22nd, 2015, and will be featured during the museum’s annual family festival celebrating Nowruz, the
Persian New Year on Saturday, March 7th, 2015. Other exhibition-related programs include a Point of View talk with exhibition curator Simon Rettig on Oct. 14th and lectures by eminent specialists, including David J. Roxburgh of Harvard University on Dec. 14th and Dick Davis of Ohio State University on Jan. 25th, 2015. For a full listing of related events, visit asia.si.edu/nastaliq. P P
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HOW BANNED ONE BAD EXPLICIT BOOK PROHIBITED IMMORAL CAN DO BAD WHAT THE NOT ALLOWED ISLAMIC REPUBLIC CAN’T EVIL A Tehrani young man learns a lesson from a forbidden story By Shafagh Ashna
A couple of days ago, I was reading an interview with Ali Motahari, one of the members of the Iranian parliament, in which he warns about the bad books and ruinous novels that have become common under Ahmadinejad’s government. Regardless of how terrible the book market has become over the past five years and that almost no published book has not been touched by the sword of censorship, I continued reading the interview to find out exactly what Motahari meant. He points at those books in which erotic scenes were described in detail and at authors writing about love or sexy relationships. Motahari says these kinds of books make the roots of the family weak and spread prostitution. The reality is that the system of the Islamic Republic has been using all of their facilities and financial resources for years to propagate “Islamic” behavior and reject the behavior they call “western” and “vulgar.” We can see this training in study programs at schools and universities, and also in public 16
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media, where Iranian youth and people are obliged to this kind of living. Also legal restrictions are used as a tool for their control. From refusing to show musical instruments on television to making an army man the head of the Ministry of Culture: these are all evidences of this control. But what is the result? People go their own way because they see that statesmen don’t even try to follow the Islamic behavior they are trying to make common among people. When I was a child, wearing T-shirts (with short sleeves) and jeans and using gel was forbidden at school. If we didn’t obey the rules, we had to go to the manager’s office and he punished us. One day, the manager’s son accompanied his father to school. Students were surprised because he wore jeans and a Tshirt and had gel in his hair. Students started talking about it: why do they lower our grades when we do these kinds of things, but why does the manager’s son gets permission? These kinds of questions have been asked for years in
Iranian society. Members of the government give meaningless and empty sermons, but they themselves don’t even believe in what they say. After reading Motahari’s interview, I remembered a story from Jhumpa Lahiri, an Indian writer who lives in America as an emigrant and writes in English. Lahiri is very famous in Iran because of her books. Maybe because of her eastern way of living, microscopic vision and her smooth way of telling a story, many Iranians like her novels. The name of the book was Interpreter of Maladies, a book with nine short stories. The story I like very much is titled “Sexy,” but in Iran, the translator changed it to “Attractive” in order to pass censorship. The story is about 22-year old Miranda. She meets a married man in Boston whose name is Dev. His wife has gone to India for a vacation. Miranda and Dev start a hot, sexy affair in that period. Dev goes to Miranda’s house every day and sleeps with her. A large part of
this 30-page story describes the relationship between Miranda and Dev – actually that kind of “romantic relationship” that Mr. Motahari mentioned as a way of spreading prostitution and moral corruption. But this is not the whole story. Besides describing the relationship between Miranda and Dev, Lahiri writes about the husband of the niece of Miranda’s colleague who left his family when he met a woman and is now living
Dev says how sexy Miranda is. This story goes on until one day, Miranda’s colleague’s niece who lost her husband divorces him. In order to recover psychologically, she decides to meet her family and spend some days with them. Miranda’s colleague asks her to take care of her niece’s child the day that they come to Boston, in order to have more time to talk to each other. Miranda agrees and the boy comes to her house. He starts playing and takes Miranda’s nightgown out of her closet, w h i c h she had
“MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNMENT GIVE MEANINGLESS AND EMPTY SERMONS, BUT THEY THEMSELVES DON’T EVEN BELIEVE IN WHAT THEY SAY.” in London. Miranda’s colleague talks about her niece and her small child every day at work, and tells how that woman caused her niece’s husband to completely forget about his family. One day Miranda and Dev go to the Mapparium museum in Boston. The architecture of the museum is such that even a low whisper can be heard easily. Whispering far from the other side of the room,
bought with excitement for Dev, to wear it for him and make him sleep with her. The little boy insists on Miranda wearing the nightgown, and when she does, the boy whispers “how sexy you are.” Miranda knows that the little boy doesn’t mean anything by it, but she wants him to describe what he means by this sentence. First he is ashamed and refuses to answer, but when Miranda in-
sists, he describes the meaning of “sexy” like this: “It means that you don’t know someone but you fall in love with her, exactly what my father did. He sat beside a sexy woman and now he loves her instead of my mother.” These words have such a big effect on Miranda that she takes some distance from her relationship with Dev. After Dev’s wife has come back from her travel, their secret appointments look like some kind of detective fiction and are not as interesting as before. Actually Miranda breaks up with Dev not because of religious orders or morality, but because of a simple reason that “no other small boy thinks that a sexy girl gets his father from him.” This story made me think and I felt it filling me with morality and positive thoughts. Actually, reading a 30-page story did something with me that the Islamic Republic propaganda couldn’t do in 34 years! I decided to write a letter to Mr. Motahari and tell him: I hope the people in charge don’t get your orders. I hope they do not forbid you to publish books because of words that are not appropriate from their point of view. At least they should read them once, to know that literature is not different from life and life is that thing that you’ve tried to put in a frame for the past 30 years, and you haven’t succeeded. I decided to write a letter to Mr. Motahari and send him the book. Maybe he will change his mind… P AYA M - E - A S H E N A
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Iran Snapshots: Riot in Thieves Alley Part 1 of 3 Adventure looms as an expat goes searching for the past in a stretch of second-hand shops in south Tehran By: Haleh Anvari It was the Prophet’s birthday and a national holiday. I was looking for garden furniture. I had moved to Iran three years earlier, got married and found a way of circumventing the prevalent style of furniture – faux Louis Quatorze, or Esteel as they call it, presumably a derivative of “style” – by going to south Tehran and scouring the semsaris (second-hand shops) in Thieves Alley. The dodgy-sounding alley is in fact a street off the Imam Hossein roundabout formerly known as Meidan-e Fouzieh, a huge, bustling traffic circle that, like so many other roads and public spaces, experienced an extreme name makeover after the revolution. It was originally named after the Shah’s first wife, a legendarily beautiful Egyptian princess who apparently was none too pleased to be married off to the heir of the unsophisticated Pahlavi court. Her name on the square had survived her failed marriage and departure from the country, as well as two more royal marriages. But after the revolution they changed the name to honor the revered martyr of Shia Islam, the Prophet’s grandson, the third Imam whose demise in the Karbala desert is com 18
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memorated each year during the mourning festival of Ashura by the mainly Shia Iranians. So the meidan, once named after an Egyptian female royal beauty, was suddenly and defiantly renamed after a fallen male heir to the Prophet’s lineage. The invisible constants: both are Arabs, and Iranians have a love of royalty – they even follow Islam in bloodline fashion. So with no traffic I drove our beaten old Iranianmanufactured Renault 5 to the sex-changed, ideologically adjusted meidan and into Thieves Alley, formally registered as Nezamabad Street. There was a rumor that a good proportion of the second-hand stock on sale in the various rundown, smelly shops were in fact stolen goods, hence the moniker. But another school of thought maintained that the nickname referred to the blatant daylight-robbing skills of the street’s wizened old shopkeepers, who managed to sell broken, termite-infested junk to happily obliging punters in search of nostalgia. And that would be where I fit in. I was searching for
nostalgia. I was reconstructing my life back in Iran on its very foundation. I was assembling, bit by bit, examples of the old furniture of not just my childhood but also my mother’s generation to create a false yet familiar space in the harsh reality of early1990s Tehran. I needed to come back to something that would faintly resemble the color, hue and smell of my fantasy of the place, the fantasy that I had treasured for 18 years, first as a foreign student, and then as a stateless refugee. So I was decorating my house as if it were a movie set, depicting another time, someone else’s life- and I was the art director. And today I needed garden furniture. As astonishing as it may sound for a country famous for its contribution to the whole notion of gardens as paradise, there was a distinct absence of heavenly garden furniture in Tehran. Only big bulky iron armchairs weighing a ton each and accompanying sofa-swings made resplendent with chintz cushions. All very well for large weekend gardens out of town, but I wanted mine for a small balcony overlooking a shared garden in an apartment block in north Tehran. So I needed something more compact. On one of the street’s offshoots, there was a strange little shop I had noticed on previous visits. This one didn’t really focus on furniture. In fact you couldn’t really tell what it was selling,
since the walls of the small four-by-threemeter store were piled high with a plethora of what can only be called “stuff,” all of it metallic and of an industrial nature. Old fans were stacked on top of armatures, 1970s-style metal kitchen cabinets in soft
pastel colors stood on their sides, old kettles nestled in coils of wire. There was a lot of wire in a broad range of sizes. In the middle of all this, a small space just big enough for a shopkeeper to stand in was magically accessed by the owner, a short gentleman with little time for pleasantries. On my various visits to Thieves Alley I had become fascinated by this shop. I always went to have a look, even though I never really wanted anything from it. I’d been intrigued by the owner’s focused dedication to a specialist genre in a field most people would refer to as junk. But I had yet to have occasion to buy anything from him. Today though, the metal specialist would be my first stop. I had established that Iranian gardens, if possessed of any furniture at all, favored the metal variety. Among more traditional homes a plain wooden bed with a carpet over it often served as garden furniture. More modern houses, though, had the metal, which was more resilient to the scorching sun in the summer and the extreme cold of the winter. Such pieces would be happily abandoned in the snow until the weather became clement again and then be hosed down and made ready for use on summer evenings. I found the shopkeeper, predictably, in the middle of his Aladdin’s cave of scrap metal. No! Hold on. I can’t say that. I can see you adding long robes and fezzes to the scene you’re trying to construct. Forgive me for unwittingly steering you into lazy orientalism. I can say “Aladdin’s cave” about a friend’s house in London, and not suggest anything other than the idea of clutter. But use this same worn-out phrase when talking about any country in the so-called Middle East and images from Ali Baba films flood in with a mish mash from all the countries and their costumes in one all-encompassing bazaar shot. I had hoped that this particular shop, like many of the others along the street, would have a back room, a hidden storage space that would yield the much-needed furniture. I had found some pretty impressive pieces in similar hidden rooms, and they had cleaned up rather nicely. I hadn’t anticipated the storage to be on the roof of the shop, and that I would not be invited up but asked instead to inspect possibly suitable items while they were being lowered by rope to the street. And that’s what we were doing when it all started, when the riot began. P P AYA M - E - A S H E N A
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Profile:
PEDRAM PASHA TAHERI 20
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PEDRAM PASHA TAHERI, the Persian designer behind Pedram Couture, talks with us about what inspires him and his goals for his new and expanding fashion line.
Designer Pedram Pasha Taheri
Let’s talk about your background and how you got into fashion. I’ve always loved fashion. Even as a child I was into watching Miss Universe and the Oscars just to see the fashions on the red carpet. There’s always been within me the desire for designing, whether it was interiors or fashion. It’s always been part of me. I left Iran when I was twelve and moved to New Orleans where
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I’m currently residing. I studied Interior Design at Louisiana State University, and ventured off into a minor in Fashion Merchandising. While I was in school I wanted to do fashion, but growing up in New Orleans I didn’t really know there was a market for it. I didn’t pursue it until years later when I had an opportunity to move to Los Angeles and work for a clothing company doing apparel for male celebrities and athletes. I was traveling coast to coast dress-
ing different clients, and while I was doing that I realized how much more passionate I am about women’s clothing than men’s. When I came back to Louisiana I really wanted to start my own clothing line. I started talking to people in the industry and began to realize there was a good opportunity for me to do custom clothing; more of a couture line, as there was a lack of it in the South and New Orleans. I started creat-
“
ing clothing and taking orders from clients and brides, and debuted my line in February during Fashion Week in New York, and in New Orleans the following month. What’s it like working out of New Orleans, which is not traditionally thought of as fashion hub in the same way as say New York or Paris? The hardest part is lack of celebrity. Having your clothing on celebrities is very influential and can re-
Being Persian, I think many of us have a level of taste where we love luxury: gold, silver and metallics.
ally make your brand. Back when I graduated New Orleans was not a happening place for fashion. But over the past few years and postKatrina, New Orleans is becoming the Hollywood of the South, with movies in production here and celebrities moving here and buying homes. It’s a new vibe- they call this the Paris of America. What I provide is a unique approach to fashion. I do couture garments for discerning clients, people who want to look different. The brides
want to wear something that no one has ever worn before or will ever wear again- they love the idea of having something couture made for them. There’s a great niche for me here in New Orleans, but I’m growing and would like to become well known in the Los Angeles area as I grow. How does living in a city with the rich history of New Orleans inspire your designs?
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I love the culture here! From all the Mardi Gras balls to the debutante parties, people going to plays or out to celebrate, there are always so many events going on and people love to dress up. I see more and more girls into fashion and people here love things that are different and colorful with lots of jewels and beading. I take that into consideration when I make my clothing for them, by making things that are more luxurious. How does your Persian background influence your designs? Being Persian, I think many of us have a level of taste where we love luxury: gold, silver and metallics. You will see that in my collectionshand-embroidered and hand-beaded pieces. I love those textures and colors, and a lot of that comes from my heritage and where I come from. When I was growing up, before the revolution, I remember looking at the king and queen and what the queen used to wear. I was crazy about the fabrics and I remember her wedding dress with diamonds on it that was made by Dior…that was so fascinating to me. Some of my inner desires come from watching those things of the past. What makes your designs special? I pay a lot of attention to special and unique details. For example adding pockets with linings of silk chiffon or charmeuse, and using materials inside my garments that feel so soft and luxurious when you wear them. Other designers may cut corners by settling for lower quality fabrics, but I put more money into getting fabrics that are quite unique. I just started working with the same embroidery and bead workers that work with big designers such
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as Monique Lhullier, Ellie Saab, Marchesa, and Zuhair Murad, so that’s a great new plus for my company. What do you enjoy designing most? My favorite is bridal because it’s so sentimental and it connects me with an event in a couple’s lives with photos and memories that last a lifetime and get passed down through the generations. Being part of such a happy occasion is probably my favorite, as what a wedding dress represents is so special. It really puts a smile on my face to see my clients in their final fittings, in awe and in love with their dream dress. Evening gowns
are beautiful, but nothing is like a wedding. What are you working on now and what’s next for you? My bridal line is now available exclusively in the Louisiana bridal boutique Blanc and I’m working on expanding into Los Angeles. I have clients from Bravo TV’s Housewives, like Melissa Gorga and Gretchen Rossi and I’m currently working with Kyle Richards [The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills] selecting the right garments for her boutique in Beverly Hills. In the Persian community, I’m working on an elaborate gold dress now for Leyla Milani [host/model/actress]
FIND PEDRAM COUTURE ONLINE: pedramcouture.com INSTAGRAM: @pedramcouture, #pedramcouture TWITTER: @pedramcouture FACEBOOK: facebook.com/ pedramcouture Pedram travels to Los Angeles several times a year and is available for private consultations and custom fittings. He will be expanding into boutiques with his ready wear collection soon. and I’ve also worked with Lily Golichi [Shahs of Sunset]. In Hollywood, I’ll be showing my collection during LA Fashion Week in October. In the future I hope to dress more celebrities and see my designs on more red carpets! I’m also working on my ready wear collection to have in boutiques from New Orleans to Beverly Hills. P
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Oldest metal in the Middle East found in Israeli dig Buried with a woman, the copper awl hints at hitherto unknown advancement in the Middle East, researchers say. BY ANDREW TOBIN
Israeli archaeologists have unearthed a 7,000-year-old copper tool, the oldest metal object yet found in the Middle East, according to a recent study. The discovery of the tiny awl in the ruins of an ancient village near the Jordanian border pushes back by several hundred years the date peoples of the southern Levant are thought to have started using metal. Buried with a woman and possibly made of Caucasian copper – now a brilliant turquoise color from oxidation – the awl suggests the village was more important and advanced than previously imagined, say the researchers behind the study. “The appearance of the item in a woman’s grave, which represents one of the most elaborate burials we’ve seen in our region from that era, testifies to both the importance of the awl and the importance of the woman, and it’s possible that we are seeing here the first indications of social hierarchy and complexity,” said Dr. Danny Rosenberg, an archaeologist at the University of Haifa. Dr. Florian Klimscha of the Eurasia Department of the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin co-led the study, which included archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
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Age. But the awl, a spear-shaped tool, dates back all the way to the late 6th millennium or early 5th millennium BCE. – suggesting technological and social advancement not associated with the Middle East at that time, according to the archaeologists.
Tel Tsaf was a wealthy commercial center in the central Jordan Valley around 5200-4600 BCE., the middle of the Copper Age. The site was discovered in the 1950s, and excavations began two decades later. Forty years of digging have revealed that the village had great wealth and commercial ties stretching across the Mediterranean.
Professor Yosef Garfinkel, an archaeologist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, found the awl in the sealed grave of an approximately 40-year-old woman that was dug inside a grain silo and covered with several large stones. Just 4 centimeters long and 1 millimeter thick at the tip, the awl was set in a wooden handle. Around the woman’s waist was a belt made of 1,668 ostrich-egg shell beads.
Until now, researchers believed that Tel Tsaf and the region only began to use metals in the second half of the 5th millennium BCE., the middle of the Copper
The woman’s grave, skeleton, and belt were all previously reported on in academic journals – but not the awl. The awl was apparently buried with the woman
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Left: The
artifact was unearthed in Tel Tsaf, an archaeological site in Israel located near the Jordan River and Israel’s border with Jordan.
Right:
The archaeological site Tel Tsaf was a village from about 5100 BCE. to 4600 BCE., and was first discovered in CE. 1950.
as an offering and may have belonged to her, says Rosenberg.
with burnt animal offering, suggesting they were used for large events.
Chemical analysis of the awl by Professor Sariel Shalev, an archaeologist at the University of Haifa, shows that the copper may have come from the Caucasus, some 600 miles from Tel Tsaf.
Relics made of obsidian – a volcanic glass from Anatolia or Armenia – shells from the Nile River in Egypt and throughout the Mediterranean Basin, figurines of people and animals, and pottery seen almost nowhere else in the region were also found.
The southern Levant is known to have maintained long-distance commercial times from an even earlier time period. But the metal for the awl was made in a distant location and processed witah imported new technology, according to the study. This combination, the archaeologists say, is unique to Tel Tsaf in the region and provides further evidence of the village’s power in the ancient world.
While the researchers are unsure what the awl was used for, its rarity testifies both to the high social status of the woman and the importance of the building she was buried in, says Rosenberg.
The findings indicate that elaborate metallurgy seen in the southern Levant later in the Copper Age may have been inspired by earlier adopters outside the Middle East, the archaeologists say.
“However, in this area far more is unknown than is known, and although the discovery of the awl at Tel Tsaf constitutes evidence of a peak of technological development among the peoples of the region and is a discovery of global importance, there’s a lot of progress still to be made and many parts of the wider picture are still unknown to us,” he said.
In previous excavations at Tel Tsaf, large mud-brick buildings and silos used to store wheat and barley at an unprecedented scale for the time were found. In the courtyard, roasting ovens were uncovered filled
More answers, as well as questions, are likely to be provided by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from around the world that has been working at Tel Tsaf since last year. P
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Study finds
Couples with bigger weddings have long-term happier marriages, study finds By Cheryl Wetzstein
couples with bigger weddings
have long-term happier marriages By Cheryl Wetzstein
Call it the “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”
effect: Having lots of guests at your wedding is linked to a high-quality marriage, say researchers, who note that it’s not the lavishness of a wedding that matters but the size of the social network of friends and family who come to support the union. The bulk of the new study, being released Tuesday by the National Marriage Project, also looks at how premarital sexual activities, cohabiting and childbearing may promote or hinder subsequent marital happiness. Having multiple premarital sexual partners, cohabiting casually and “sliding” into marriage — instead of “deciding” to marry — were all associated with lower marital quality. “Our bottom-line advice to Americans hoping to marry is this: Remember that what you do before you say ‘I do’ may shape your odds of forging a successful marital life,” said study co-author Scott M. Stanley, research professor and co-director of the Center for Marital and Family Studies at the University of Denver. The researchers studied nearly 1,300 people, aged 18 to 34, who were unmarried but in an oppositesex romantic relationship in 2007-2008 and who 28
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agreed to be part of the federally funded Relationship Development Study at the University of Denver. Over the subsequent five years, 418 of the adults in the study married. Years of data collected about them allowed researchers to examine premarital relationships and their statistical links to current marital quality. Premarital preparation, for instance, was found to be strongly associated with higher-quality marriages: Some 57 percent of spouses who engaged in some kind of marriage-preparation program said their unions were very good, while only 32 percent of spouses who skipped marriage prep gave such high marks to their unions. Living together before marriage — which is now common — was also examined. Researchers found that couples who didn’t cohabit before marriage or cohabited only with each other as a future spouse were the most likely to be in happy unions. Conversely, couples who cohabited under more nebulous conditions or had multiple cohabiting experiences were more likely to have lower-quality marriages. In fact, having multiple sexual partners was tied to lower-quality marriages, the researchers said.
This could be because sexually experienced people are able to compare a new partner to many old ones, leading to feelings of dissatisfaction with a new partner, said the study, “Before ‘I Do:’ What Do Premarital Experiences Have to Do With Marital Quality Among Today’s Young Adults.” Moreover, people who have had many sexual partners also had more experience breaking up — which can “make it harder to maintain commitment” and lead to “a more jaundiced view of love and relationships,” the researchers concluded. Raising a child from a previous relationship was also associated with lower-quality marriages, a finding echoed in other research. The researchers cautioned that none of their findings meant that a marriage is “doomed” based on premarital experiences. But they said the results do challenge the idea that previous romantic and sexual experiences are irrelevant to future marital happiness. Unlike past job experience — which is highly valued — “we found that having more [relationship] experience before getting married was associated with lower marital quality,” said Galena K. Rhoades, study co-author and research associate professor of psychology at the University of Denver.
While people can’t undo their past, they can control things going forward, she said. Dating couples “probably ought to talk about” past experiences, she said. The goal is not to share all the details of the past but to understand “how those experiences might have really shaped your general sense of what relationships look like, and trust and commitment in relationships,” she said. In a finding likely to be seized on by the $50 billion-plus U.S. wedding industry, the study found that when it comes to marital quality, the bigger the nuptials the better. “This study finds that couples who have larger wedding parties are more likely to report highquality marriages,” said W. Bradford Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia and an associate professor of sociology, noting the popular 2002 romantic-comedy movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” The study’s finding “is not about spending lots of money on a wedding party,” he added. “It’s about having a good number of friends and family in your corner.” P
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PROMETHEA UNBOUND
A REVIEW OF ATIQ RAHIMI’S MOVIE, THE PATIENCE STONE BY RASOUL ALIAKBARI
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THE PATIENCE STONE (2012)
by the Afghan-born, French-based director Atiq Rahimi, is his second attempt at screening his own novels after his Earth and Ashes in 2004. Based on his novel under the same title (2008), The Patience Stone raises as its central theme female’s self-realization and emancipation. The movie commences with radio announcements repeating “republic” and “democratic,” but the artillery sounds that ensue render the broadcast ironic and betray the reality of the frontline, war-stricken community of Afghanistan, where the movie is set. Golshifteh Farahani, the Iranian alienated from her Islamic home country of Iran, leads the protagonist and offers an extended lyrical monologue, which grows to be the most compelling element in the movie. Not withstanding, the device sounded somewhat melodramatic in the first scene. Farahani’s character, which is identified as “the woman” in the cast, does not emerge – despite her religious moments – as a devoted Muslim in the course of the provocative and courageous narrative she relates of her suppressed past. While she tends to her comatose husband (Hamid Djavdan) after the gunshot wound he has received in his neck, the situation develops into a fruitful one for the long repressed frustrations of the Oriental woman to find a vent. During the movie, the protagonist grows from a dependent female to a leading figure and ultimately to a prophetess. Farahani’s character gives voice to and substantiates her womanly desires and interests and thereby challenges religion, tradition, and particularly native
patriarchy which had silenced her voice and would still subjugate her numerous faceless female peers. On a psychological level, the heroine – with the council she would always get from her prostitute aunt – is not interested in the religious rituals that the Mullah offers for healing her husband. Rather she is, unconsciously so, inclined to keep her husband, or what her aunt identifies by referring to Persian mythology as the ‘patience stone,’ as he is, so that she can relate to him her long suppressed frustrations. Making use of the unique situation in which a formerly abusive husband is now impotent to respond or to reassert control, the protagonist divulges her frustrations, which include not being heard, noticed, understood, loved, properly made love to or protected enough by the war-obsessed husband. While the woman makes a statement about her spouse, it tends to hold about all his male peers in their community: “Those who don’t know how to make love make war.” At another point she examines his wound and addresses the unreactive, paralyzed husband as such: “You’re never in pain.” While there is a literal component to her expression, the statement, on a broader level, embodies objection to the patriarchal order in which men are never in pain as they are always in power. Nonetheless, Rahmani’s film is the reversal of the native tradition and his counter-establishment stance is demonstrated in Farahani’s spellbinding performance. In a few key scenes, the protagonist manages to keep her husband behind a veil and engage in a love affair defying the tradition that seeks to impose restraints on her (and on all her peers alike) in the name of chastity and social conventions. Also, the theme of female emancipation
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is enacted in minor narratives as they take place within the protagonists’ overall frame of confessions. They include her initiative of having her father’s fighting quail killed in order to avoid a forced stake-prompted marriage. She also reveals their daughters’ paternal background to her incapacitated husband, who could not beget them being a sterile – albeit denying – man. As such, the film is an inverted cinematized version of The Arabian Nights. Whereas in The Arabian Nights Scheherazade had to obtain the king’s permission to tell stories each
night and thereby save her life, in The Patience Stone the protagonist relates her personal stories day after day, not out of fear of perishing, but due to an unconscious drive for narration of her suppressed worries in order to achieve emotional alleviation. Moreover, the central protagonist not only expresses her desires but also substantiates them with the stuttering young soldier (Massi Mrowat) who takes her as a prostitute. The heroine soon becomes his teacher, advising him how to give sexual gratifica-
top: In a war-torn
nation, “the woman” ventures outside of her house to get water and medication for her husband.
right: Farahani’s character finds refuge with her Aunt, who runs a brothel.
left: Golshifteh Farahani, known in the film as simply, “The woman, ” and “The man,” Hamid Djavadan. 32
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tion. Nonetheless, whereas mythology says the patience stone shatters once it has received one’s anguish, the inactive husband, who is identified as the patience stone in the course of the movie, does not instantly perish, and even tries to reassert his power toward the end. In a climactic scene, the three-week comatose husband partly recuperates and, having heard his wife’s audacious confessions, attempts to strangle her. Yet female agency is demonstrated at its peak at this point; the woman prophet, as Farahani’s character calls herself toward the end, takes the initiative of shattering the “stone” by killing her husband. In this regard, the movie’s end proves highly pertinent, as the young soldier visits the woman’s house and finds the protagonist in a murder scene of operatic density. He is entering through the gate while the fully shining sun, as well as accompaniment of music (by Max Richter), suggests a sense of discipleship. The prophetess has shattered the stone (of tradition)
and welcomes the young, conceding disciple with a victorious, seductive smile and a passionate expression. As a consequence, coupling Middle-Eastern traditional atrocity and French inspirational sentiments, the Bohemian director, Rahimi, has set expressionism, self-fulfillment and life versus war, victimization and suppression. Despite its many merits including ingenious monologue and exemplary characterization, The Patient Stone, dissenting and controversial as it is, finds less chance of circulation within conservative Muslim communities. Ultimately, although incorporation in image of the woman’s sufferings during her engagement would make the monologue more engrossing, The Patient Stone, as it is, does propose an alternative to the suppressive Afghan patriarchal order and, on a broader level, successfully promotes the Oriental female’s voice. P
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There Will Never Be Another
Robin Williams By Charles Sykes
Clockwise from left: Williams was nominated for an Emmy in the title role on the sitcom Mork and Mindy (1982). S Egay P Tcabaret E M B E Rowner 2 0 1 4Armand \\ P - E - A S H E(1996) NA 34 as Williams inAYA TheMBirdcage He played a man searching for his wife in the afterlife in the fantasy What Dreams May Come (1998). He won the Academy Award for his role as a psychologist in Good Will Hunting (1997).
He was arguably the funniest man alive, until, shockingly, he wasn’t. Robin Williams was found dead of asphyxia in Marin County, California, on Monday. The investigation is ongoing, but his publicist reportedly said he was battling depression. Williams was a rare, transcendent performer who excelled at nearly all his endeavors. One of the all-time great stand-up comedians, he became a TV star, then a movie star, then an Oscar winner. It’s the comedian’s curse to want to be taken seriously, but Williams did that with roles in films such as Dead Poets Society and Good Will Hunting, for which he won the Academy Award. He entertained generations of Americans in his too-short life, playing a huge range of characters, from the animated genie in Disney’s Aladdin to the divorced dad who misses his kids so much he goes in drag as their nanny in Mrs. Doubtfire. Williams was chancy with his career, willing to appear in offbeat and downright weird movies such as One Hour Photo, Death to Smoochy and What Dreams May Come. Whatever missteps, we always seemed to welcome back that manic teddy bear, whose machine gun fire, stream of consciousness delivery hurled impressions and jokes at us like a fire hose. Williams struggled with addiction throughout his career, but he always stayed productive, popular and, without question, funny. A friend on social media said it best, referencing Williams’ English teacher John Keating and his beloved Walt Whitman: “Oh captain, my captain.” The king is dead. Long live the king.
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Dark chocolate may ease walking for patients with artery disease BY ANDREW M. SEAMAN
Older people who have trouble getting around because of poor blood flow to their legs may be able to walk a little longer and farther after eating dark chocolate, according to a new small Italian study. People with peripheral artery disease (PAD) who ate a dark chocolate bar were able to slightly increase the time and distance they walked a couple of hours later, compared to people who ate milk chocolate, researchers found. “Nutrients are key components of health and disease,” said Dr. Lorenzo Loffredo, the study’s lead author from Sapienza University in Rome. He and his colleagues write in the Journal of the American Heart Association that compounds known as polyphenols, which are much more plentiful in dark chocolate than milk chocolate, may have something to do with the improved performance. “In the context of atherosclerosis, following an appropriate diet is crucial for reducing the burden of vascular disease,” Loffredo wrote in an email. This study supports that idea, he 36
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said, as eating polyphenol-rich nutrients led to improved blood flow in the legs. About one in five people ages 70 years and older living in Western countries is affected by PAD, the researchers write. In addition to being a risk factor for heart attacks and strokes, the condition can cause legs to hurt and cramp while walking. For the new study, the researchers recruited 14 men and six women who were in their late 60s, on average, and had them walk on a treadmill for as long as possible. The treadmill was set at about 2.2 miles per hour and a 12-percent grade. Participants were then randomly assigned to eat a bar of either dark or milk chocolate and retook the treadmill test two hours later. The time and distance walked did not change between the first and second sessions for those who ate milk chocolate. Those who ate dark chocolate were able to walk for about 17 seconds longer and 39 feet farther than during their initial walk, however. The researchers also measured a type of gas in
the blood that has been linked to improved blood flow and found it was higher among those who ate dark chocolate, compared to those who ate milk chocolate. Dr. Thom Rooke, a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said the effect on walking appeared to be small and may not be particularly noticeable to the average person. “This is interesting and almost certainly has some scientific validity to it,” he said. “I’m not at all surprised that things in dark chocolate change measurable things in our blood that are capable of making our blood vessels expand or contract. I just don’t think this is going to be a major answer.” For example, he said eating dark chocolate would also add to the calories people are consuming.
“Any tiny benefit . . . on your walking that you get from chocolate will be offset by weight gain,” said Rooke, who was not involved with the new study. Loffredo said a future study will need to look at a larger group of people and assess longer-term consumption of dark chocolate. Also, he said the researchers cannot be sure that other components in dark chocolate - besides polyphenols - were responsible for the improvements. Typically, people diagnosed with PAD are advised to change their behaviors, such as by cutting out smoking and eating a better diet, Rooke said. They’re also told to ex-
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Those who ate dark chocolate were able to walk for about 17 seconds longer and 39 feet farther than during their initial walk ercise and may be put on some medications. Surgery to bypass blocked arteries is typically a last resort. “It’s really an impetus to change your lifestyle, see your physician and clean up your act so to speak,” he said. P P AYA M - E - A S H E N A
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Healthy Back to School Tips
Every Kid Will Love
I can’t believe it’s already that time again; the kiddos are getting ready to head back to school. Morning, noon and night, it’s up to us to help them stay healthy so they function at their best. Here are a few easy tips for each meal of the day to help keep your family happy and healthy this school year.
s: H ealthy lu nch(ortheip This ensures they’re eatlp pack) their own lunches.
kids pack this the night before to save - If packing lunch, have the Do k. jun for d de tra ing be n’t end up ing what they like and it does iners time in the morning. inless steel leak proof conta sta as ch su rs, ine nta co fe red in sa ry’s - Be sure to pack a lunch sto Proof Containers, or Lifefacto ak Le l ee St s les ain St ots hB Lunc or safe glass containers. Try quality fat) glass storage. s, veggies, protein and high uit (fr us foc d an y erg en re su - Keep it nutrient-dense to en ucing ones (skip the raisins!) ind y vit ca y, ck sti ry, ga su of d - Opt for whole fruits instea d drinks and pack water instea ry ga su d an s xe bo ce jui - Skip the : Here are some meals to try slices - Organic free-range turkey - Goat cheese and avocado ney and banana sandwich ho r, tte bu ut an pe ral atu -n to an all - Upgrade the standard PB&J - Leftovers in a thermos rt parfaits for extra - Homemade fruit and yogu yogurt, guacamole, and salsa k ee Gr of e sid a th wi a, till rn tor - Wrap leftover meat in a co fat and extra fun!
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B reakfast
s said? BreakRemember what Mom alway al of the day. fast is the most important me akfast! BreakNever let your kids skip bre so start off on fast sets up our entire day, , protein and the right foot with healthy fat carbohydrates. : Here are some ideas to try grain) - Oatmeal (or other leftover ped with cooked with berries and top tein powder, flax or hemp seeds and pro side with nut butter or eggs on the d or all - Sprouted toast with almon drizzle of natural peanut butter and a raw honey th spin- Green monster smoothie wi and ach, almond milk, blueberries your favorite nut butter , flax - Organic yogurt with berries ce seeds and cinnamon (to balan blood sugar)
What about h e althy snacks and sid es to keep th eir en er gy u p?
- Homemade sprouted
- Rice cakes or carrot
guacamole
trail mix
s and celery with pe anut butter or
- Veggies and humm us - Popcorn with coco nut butter - Spelt pretzels and tahini - Frozen grapes - Apples and almond
- Raw cheese and fla
- Kale chips
butter with cinnamon
x crackers
- Frozen yogurt, kefir
or acai - Olives or unpasteu rized pickles - Sweet potatoes with cinnamon and maple syrup
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PAYAM ASHENA
wants to hear from you!
Got a comment on one of our articles? An issue you want to sound off about? We invite our readers to submit their letters to the editor by sending an email to PAYAM@ASHENA.COM Please use the subject line “Letter to the Editor� and include your name and city. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.
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FARSI LESSONS BY K-VON
Growing up in Reno, Nevada in the 80s meant there were not many Persians around. We were basically the only family in town and my father was certainly the only Iranian in our household. Mom is an American woman from California, so the English speakers outnumbered my father three to one. My brother and I were more concerned with school and sports than learning a language we couldn’t use with anyone that we knew. Like any true Iranian, my dad still wanted us to learn his native tongue. First he looked for a school or language academy he could take us to a few days a week after school. The closest one was in Monterey, California, six hours away. One look at our 23-year-old car and he realized this would not do. Instead, he decided he would teach us Farsi all by himself using methods I’m sure would never get approved by the good people at Rosetta Stone. His biggest idea was to name our pets with Farsi names. This way my brother and I would say them daily and become familiar with the language. Do you know how many pets it would take to learn a dialect that way? There aren’t enough animals on Noah’s
Ark to become conversational in Farsi. And our small house was even worse since we only had two animals. This did not deter my father. He named our dog “Sag.” Sadly, sag already means dog. So basically, I had a dog named “Dog” (this is beginning to sound like a Johnny Cash song). We also had a blue bird he named “Aubie,” which means, yep, you guessed it: blue. And that’s it. No more lessons. End of Language 101 at the Moezzi household. So if you are to ask me if I speak Farsi, the answer is yes. I learned my two words very quickly and consider myself a master. The only problem is, whenever I meet a beautiful Persian girl and she asks me to speak Farsi to her, it puts me in a very tough position. For if I call her sag, I know she will choke me until my face turns aubie. P K-von is a writer, comedian, and actor. He hosts events around the world and performs standup regularly. Be sure to see him live. Anyone who mentions this column will get four free tickets to an upcoming show on www.KvonComedy.com
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