Vacation time! تعطیل

I just finished the Summer Workshop at IU-- and obtained a year's worth of language training in 8 weeks! Now I have some time off before starting fall classes-- which include Intermediate Persian, Urdu, and Middle Persian (Pahlavi).  This summer has felt like a full Persian immersion and I've learned so much. One of my favorite parts about this class has been the exposure to Iranian Cinema. Here are some of my favorite films:  (just a warning-- none of them have particularly happy endings, but I'm learning to appreciate the contemplative quality of Persian movies!). Enjoy :)

A Separation:

A married couple are faced with a difficult decision, to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimers.

http://www.movie2k.to/movie-953983-A%2bSeparation%2b*subtitled*.html
(ignore the advertisement placed in front of the screen)

Marmoulak (The Lizard):

Although a comedy, the film makes serious points about the clergy, religion, society in Iran, and life in general. Due to the film's perceived attacks towards clerics, the movie was banned from theatres in Iran after only being on screen for one month.

The Pear Tree:

This is the story of a serious man in the face of his intellectual black out as he finds more meaning to his life while rummaging through his childhood memory. 

http://youtu.be/2Sox1XbZqAo

Iftar in Mashhad

These are a series of photos from Fars News Agency by Meysam Dehghani taken in Mashhad, Iran.  Muslims gather at the Shrine of Imam Reza at sundown to break their fast--which is called "Iftar" during the month of Ramadan.  Traditionally, a date is eaten first alongside a cup of tea.  "Ramadan Mubarak" to my Persian friends!

For more information about Ramadan in Iran:

Imagining Iran: The Art of Samira Abbassy

The artist Samira Abbassy barely had a chance to know Iran, the country where she was born in 1965; she emigrated to London at the age of 2. As a Middle Eastern woman living first in Britain and then in the United States — she moved to New York in 1998 — Ms. Abbassy has described often feeling alone, isolated and displaced; she recalled little of her native country. Her paintings try to bridge this divide, depicting an imaginary space, a place of inclusion, in which she explores ideas of identity and her somewhat ambivalent relationship to Iranian culture. Ms. Abbassy is one of an Arab-Iranian minority of Arabic speakers in Iran, where the dominant language is Persian.
Inspired by Persian & Indian miniature painting tradition, as well as outsider art. Visually, Abbassys work reflects her cross-cultural heritage in a number of ways. She draws on the visual traditions of both Middle Eastern and Western art in a manner that is neither superficial nor eclectic, but rooted firmly in her belonging to both cultures. The recurring themes in her work aim toward a shared mythology and iconography that underlies both societies. She excavates through layers of often-contradictory cultural identity towards an understanding of her own background. Here's the link to her personal website:
http://www.samiraabbassy.com/index.html

Persian Bazaars بازارها ایران

Persian class has been feeling like a full immersion these past two weeks! We've had a heavy workload, but the material is interesting. Since we recently finished reading a chapter about Tehran's historic bazaar, I've collected a number of photos of it along with a few from Isfahan. Tehran's Grand Bazaar (located in the south of the city) was developed during the Safavid era and remains a popular tourist destination today.

 

Persian Domes & Tiles

More of my photo-collages:

Tribute to Annemarie Schimmel

When I first discovered the works of Dr. Annemarie Schimmel (1922-2003), I was amazed by her prolific list of publications and lectures on Islamic India and Persian mysticism. It was obvious that after reading only a little of her writings that Schimmel had a special love for her research and tirelessly worked to highlight the rich achievements of the Islamic world in Western academia.
Schimmel's biography reads one of a prodigy:
Born on April 7, 1922, in Erfurt, Germany,  she finished high school at 15 and earned a doctorate in Arabic and Islamic studies at 19. She had a nearly photographic memory. For years she was a consultant to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where she was legendary for her ability to identify scraps of ancient text.  After earning her second doctorate, in comparative religion, Ms. Schimmel began teaching Persian and Arabic poetry at the University of Marburg in Germany. For several years she taught theology at the University of Ankara in Turkey, the first woman and the first non-Muslim to do so. In 1967 she inaugurated the Indo-Muslim studies program at Harvard, and remained on the faculty for the next quarter-century. She was proficient in Latin, Greek, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Sindhi, Punjabi, and Pashto. She was also a much sought-after lecturer, and her style of delivery was famous: she would clasp her purse with both hands, shut her eyes, and speak for exactly the amount of time allotted to her.
She was much loved in Pakistan and even a boulevard was named after her in Lahore:

One of Schimmel last projects was a book titled: The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture (2006).  It's a highly readable survey of the Mughal Empire and includes fascinating information about women at the court and the imperial household. In the coming years, I hope to travel to Lucknow, India to study Mughal Persian through the American Institute of Indian Studies. With Schimmel on my desk, I don't need to look far for inspiration :)

Persian Dombak

The musician featured in this video is Arjang Faramarzi from the Mastan Ensemble. He's playing an instrument known as the dombak or goblet drum-- which is a direct descendant of drums used by the ancient Sumerians. It is an essential instrument in both the classical and the popular music of Persia. Founded in 2005 by Parvaz Homay, The Mastan Ensemble has become one of the most prominent traditional music groups from Iran. Homay's ensemble consists of eight highly proficient musicians who promote the Sufi tradition of living consciously and creatively.