Darya it is :D

Till 6 this evening I still hadn’t come to any final decision on what to call this new baby. For me to choose something I have to ‘feel’ that it’s right; I need to get a sign—nooooo I haven’t read one Paulo Coelho book too many :D

So I’d added some new songs to my ipod—some old albums that I hadn’t listened to for a long time—when Moein’s song Pialeh came on. Oh god this song!!!It must have been at least 10 years since I last heard this song. I love the message of the song. So merry old me tried to sing along, trying to remember the lyrics when the following words were sang out loud:

Bi Neyaz o

Tanha baash;

Teshneh bash o

Darya bash

Translation:

Be detached (from worldly possessions)

Be solitary

Be thirsty

Be the sea

Can a sign get any clearer than this??!! It says be the sea—be darya.

And so Darya (the sea) I become

The ebb and flow of my sea will be marked here: www.mymagicaldroplets.wordpress.com

I had created that blog when I wanted to export the posts on Magical Droplets before deleting it. I just exported all the posts on Mirror Polisher to it as well.

PS. I forgot to credit the two images in this post (edited) and the one preceding it--opps-- they are both from this site

Day in Review

Already accomplished:

Case 1: Finally called friends and let them know I’m back in Kuwait.

Case 2: Finally started yoga…OUCH my back!!!

Case 3: Finally mom had her talk with me on WHEN THE HELL I plan to go back to work.

Case 4: Finally fixed my yahoo messenger

Case 5: Finally changed my template…again

Case 7: Booked 2 tickets for the new KLT show: www.theklt.com

Case 8: Read a great translation of Googoosh’s song: Mordab HERE on Abadany dar Holland's Blog

Still need to do

Case: 1: Install that “Intro to Guitar” CD; and that “Guide to Persian Literature” CD

Case 2: Check out all those bookmarked sites that were blocked in Iran

Case 3: Finish reading “The Memory Keeper’s Daughter”

Case 4: Reply to 2 personal emails

Review of 21 films

Bootlegged films are VERY cheap in Iran—about 300 fils—so I brought smuggled in about 70 to Kuwait, hehehehehehehe....Here’s a one line review of 21 films

Non-English Films

Hindi:

1. Jodha Akbar: Recommended by Amu. Great cinematography. Loved the sword fighing scene between Ash and Hrithik :D The film got me to google Akbar the Great. Found out there were some historical inaccuracies but not enought to distort the truth too much. BTW, did you know that Akbar was the grandfather of Shah Jahan of Taj Mahal?

French:

1. Persepolis: This film could be a page out the book of ANY Iranian who lived in Iran during the 80s and early 90s

Iranian Films

1. Ali Santuri (English title: The Musician): Only reason I watched it is coz it’s banned in Iran. If you wanna put yourself through more than an hour of torture then watch this film.
2. Nesf Maleh Maan, Nesf Maleh Tow (English title: Half mine, Half yours): A fun family film.

Half English/Half Farsi film

1. The Kite Runner: The book was MUCH more poignant.

English Films

1. Rendition: Thought pace was too slow but liked the way the two timelines interlocked. Reese Witherspoon’s role was way too trivial.
2. A Might Heart: Pace too slow, film a bit weak, could have focused more on the emotional side of it; liked Jolie’s new hairdo though.
3. The Night Listener: not a lot of suspense for a suspenseful film
4. The Kingdom: Got to see it again to comment
5. The Bourne Ultimatum: Matt Damon was HOT :P
6. National Treasure 2: Liked part 1 much better; learned some interesting tidbits, like there are two Eiffel Towers :D
   
7. No Country for Old Man: I am now convinced that members of the Oscars academy are officially blind, deaf and with no sense of artistic taste!!
8. Lions for Lambs: A loooooooooong lecture. You might as well just watch a political debate on CNN. Tom Cruise was his annoying self.
9. Jesse James: Was never a fan of Brad Pitt; this film proved why.
10. I am Legend: Will Smith is HOT!!
11. The Golden Compass: Nicole Kidman is forcing me to cross her off my list of fav actresses
    
12. Atonement: The only reason I watched it till the end was coz I was too lazy to reach for the remote to switch off the TV.
13. Juno: Loved her character, especially her wit. Screenplay was excellent. Though I did think they toned down the trials of teenage pregnancy.
14. Meet the Spartans: LOL..much more realistic than 300
15. Elizabeth: Made me google it; the film has some historical inaccuracies. Thought the real Queen Elizabeth would have been much more interesting than the one depicted in this film.

The Tour Guide

This post was written a week ago when I was still in Iran

Ever had a feeling like…well like…like you are walking with…yourself. Several times during this trip to Iran I felt this way. Those times that I floated through familiar streets, streets whose walls were like a photo album …with each brick bringing back memories…memories that though you created no longer feel like yours…not the new you anyway. Ever heard your old self talking to you while going down these streets?

Today I went to Payetakht—a mall in northern Tehran that is the center of computers. I used to come here at least twice a week years ago. It had somehow changed now. Those days it was mostly bootlegged CDs, now it’s laptops, digital cameras, plasma TVs, iphones, mobiles, macs, etc. Just like those days I stopped at each shop studying the variety of models. Before I knew it I slipped into a conversation with myself.

“Now that’s a beautiful Sony Vaio…hey I haven’t seen that model in Kuwait…why do some companies export certain models to only certain countries…oh look there is the official agency of Panasonic…let me check out their camera….”

“Hey remember this shop? This was the shop that you got that SPSS CD, remember? Remember you needed that statistics application CD for your thesis but it was difficult to get hold of the latest version? This shop promised to bring it for you? Remember?”

The memory was mine, but this wasn’t me talking to myself anymore… I almost felt her presence walking next to me…like a guide, a tour guide, guiding me through ‘my’ memories…distance memories. She also stopped with me at each shop, with each shop she painted a vision in me of the shop as it was years ago…just like a tour guide.

Ever felt this way?

More random pictures from Tehran

1. Picture of two mosques in Tehran for Intlxpatr

2. Is it too polluted for ya? :D Keep track of the amount of gases in the air in Shahrakeh Ghaarb

3. Love this idea. Tehran’s city Hall has placed book baskets on buses. This particular book is called, “Short stories from Pakistan”

4. Wall painting in Vanak Square

Close up of the same house

5. My ice cream :D

I FEEL ALIVE

Ahhhh my good old friend has wrapped itself around me again. This time though it doesn’t come alone, Who are these friends? If I remember correctly that’s the sweet smell of a wild berry tree drenched in spring rain, and aahh there’s the cool air that’s bouncing off that brick wall, just listen to that music our pure stream is playing…yeah of course a canary has to be whistling amidst this ‘earthy’ aroma. Thank you dear breeze, thanks my old friend for bringing new friends with you this time.

I FEEL ALIVE

Ahhhh yeah, today (Tuesday) was Sizeh Bedar (Thirteen gone out); it’s basically the last day of Norooz and as part of our tradition, it’s a day where THE WHOLE nation goes out to have a picnic. In every single park, river bank, meadow, gardens, or anywhere there’s a patch of greenery you would see families barbequing, playing badminton or volleyball, swinging on makeshift swings, smoking hookah, and dancing…yes even dancing but not in parks (too many prying eyes there :D)

I FEEL ALIVE

So mom and I are back in Tehran. During the past two weeks we went to Masouleh, Shomal (northern cirites of Iran near the Caspian sea), Abyaneh and Kashan. We still have to go to Isfahan, possibly next week. During this trip I have come to understand that:

1. Iranians are very sociable/talkative :D

2. Iranians favorite past time seems to be fighting and dancing :D :D

3. Iranians are neither leaders nor blind followers.

4. Iranians don’t appreciate their cultural heritage or historical sites

In separate posts I would elaborate on each. Till then here are some pix from around Tehran and places we visited.

Swing in Abasabad Jungle (shomal)



Historical House in Kashan (Borejerdi House)



Pic taken from a moving vehicle enroute to Masouleh (shomal)



A window in a Tradtional House in Kashan (Tabatabaee House)




Shop in Tajresh-Tehran selling Nowrooz stuff

Melat Park-Tehran


Abasabad Jungle-shomal




Ceiling in Tabatabee House-Kashan


Abyaneh woman wearing tradtional clothes (will post more details about Abyaneh soon)


Abasabad Jungle--shomal

Back Home from Home :D :D :D

Mom and I are on a plane back to Kuwait. A family emergency has forced us to cut our trip short.

“So, what were you dreaming about?”

Still dazed, I could barely make out the face that asked me that question…it took the daze a few minutes to settle…moments later I could make out my mom’s bright big eyes.

“Huh?”

“You were smiling in your asleep…so..tell, tell?”

Tell, tell I will. In the next posts, but in the meantime here are some posts I wrote in Iran but couldn’t publish them coz blogspot was blocked:

Our portable 7 Seens :D

Since mom and I are going to be on the road most of the time, I got ourselves a portable Haft Seen as well...love the design :D

Goodbye 1386

Twelve hours ago

It came, the morning breeze, the first breeze of spring. It whirled in, into my room, into my solitude, it twirled around, around my being, around my aura,, it surfed in, surfed careless into my being, into my soul. I am light, I am happy, I smile.

Only a couple of hours of 1386 is left. I close my eyes, tilt my head back, drop to my knees and the sigh lets itself out. A sigh that means…that simply means…thank you.

Thank you 1386. Thank you for 365 blissful days.

Remember the day I said hello to you? The day I wrote this post: “Happy Nowrooz 1386: My personal 7 seens”. Little did I know that my ‘inner’ journey started when I published that post. Little did I know that when the year 2007 ended I would publish this: Goodbye 2007.

And now, at exactly 9:18 and 19 seconds, I would be bidding farewell to 1386. My ‘inner’ journey will end with a physical one. I came to Iran to take a long overdue trip with my mom. A trip that I KNOW will be uplifting for my mom after a difficult year.

The goldfish on our 7 seen table smiles back at me; it winks, it says: Noroozetan Pirooz

Guess where I am :D

So I managed to get a KD 14 ticket (including tax) from Jazzera Airlines to this country and flew in a couple of days ago. Let’s play a game of where I am. Here we go:

Clue number 1:

Ten minutes after landing I witness a scene that brought a smile to my face :)

40-year-old-angry-man #1: Eeey mister. The end of the line is there.

50-year-old -don’t give a damn-man: I was here. Just left for a while.

40-year-old-angry-man #1: How’s that possible? Your flight came after ours.

At least 3 other angry passengers joining in: Yeah, how’s that possible? Get to the back of the line.

50-year-old -don’t give a damn-who is now getting a bit irritated-man: Listen, I said….[insert some angry words here]

30-year-old angry woman talking out loud to herself: Some people have a lot of nerve. They just cut and don’t seem to care.

What you should have concluded: Hmmmmm, so in this country people seem to argue over cutting in line a lot, hmmmmm so which country could it be, hmmm?

Clue number 2:

Me over hearing a conversation between a mother and a daughter

Daughter: That was a bumpy flight

Mom [looking exhausted]: I seriously got very scared. I thought we were going to crash

Daughter: Why don’t you go and sit down, I’ll wait in line

Mom now way too tired to reply

Daughter: mom you don’t look good. Take an anti-stress pill and go and sit over there

Mom: I took the last one on the plane. I don’t have any left.

Four other passengers at the same time: Here you go, I have one

What you should have concluded: Hmmmm, so in this country most people are a walking pharmacy

Clue number 3:

Passport control officer: So is this your first trip to [name of mysterious country you are suppose to guess name of]with this passport.

Me: Yeah

Passport control officer: So you were born in Kuwait, huh?

Me: Yeah

Passport control officer: And is your mister from [name of country]? [SIDENOTE: Ok, I’m not sure of the exact translation of the word he used, so let’s just assume ‘mister’ is what he said]

Me: yeah both my parents are from [name of mysterious country you are suppose to guess the name of]

Passport control officer: No, your mister!

Me: My what? Ahhhhhh, [realizing he means husband not father]Actually, I’m single.

Passport control officer: Why? [checks my date of birth] You were born in ???. So it’s time. Even guys your age should get married by now, let alone a woman. [insert another 3 minutes of a well-thought out and well structured lecture and definitely ideas I for one have never heard of before on the social, religious, national, civil, economical and well just humane benefits of marriage.

What you should have concluded: Hmmmmm, so in this country people seem to ask strangers lots of personal questions and seem to love lecturing people, now where could it be, hmmmmmmmmm?

Clue number 4:

In the taxi ride from airport

Me talking to myself: Is he speeding? Ahhhh, who cares, I’ll get home faster…wooooo…how come no one is driving within the lanes…damn that truck is emitting a lot black smoke…wooooo that car got way too close to us!!!!.....wooooo so did this car….damn that was close…woo that car is driving only 1 cm away from us…hey he’s not going to try to squeeze into that little space between the two trucks is he?..aaahhhh…he did…you know what, maybe I should just close my eyes till we get there.

What you should have concluded: Hmmmmmm, so traffic in this country is pretty scary.

Clue number 5:

When we got to my neighborhood

ME talking to myself: Wooooo, where did all this highways come from. They weren’t here last time I visited…and check out the traffic…and the people…and the shops…what happened to all those houses, why are they now apartment blocks?

What you should have concluded: Hmmmmm, so this city is basically unrecognizable if you go away for only a couple of years.

Clue number 6:

Taxi driver listening to the radio about an upcoming election

Taxi driver talking to me…or maybe just out loud: These [insert any foul word here]. Did you know [insert 10 minutes of latest political news with his well-thought out and well structured commentary and definitely ideas that I for one have never heard of on how the current regime has destroyed the country]

What you should have concluded: Hmmmmm, so in this country you will have a political discussion every time you are in a cab.

Clue number 7:

When I tried to log onto my Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr account I saw this:

What you should have concluded: Hmmmmm, so most sites in this country are blocked….oh…wait I think I got the name of the country mirrorpolisher is there now…It’s Iran…how did I guess, well elementary my dear Watson, I used a series of elimination techniques from the 7 clues and cleverly managed to deduce that the only country in the world that it could be is Iran…oh that and that it’s actually written in clue 7.

NOTE: Until 5 minutes ago, blogspot was also blocked, that's why I couldn't post anything till now.

What do Da Vinci and I have in common? Polyphasic sleep

Ever heard of Polyphasic sleep? Basically it’s sleeping in ‘multiple short phases’, i.e., you sleep for 2 hours, stay awake for 4, then sleep again for 2, stay awake for 4 and so on. Apparently this is the sleeping habits of some quite a number of world geniuses, namely Da Vinci, Lord Byron, Einstein (though not all the time)…and …well the mother of all inventors--Kramer (remember that episode from Seinfeld)…oh and apparently Batman.

Ok, not that I was trying to be Mrs Batman, but it seems I have joined the Exclusive Polyphasic Sleep Club of Geniuses (hereafter EPSCF). My membership started 3 nights ago when I stopped going to work. I slept in late, then got up, ran a few errands, had nothing else to do so went back to sleep, then got up again, slept again, got up again and then I couldn’t sleep all night!!! Before I knew it, I had developed the pattern of polyphasic sleep.

Oh and on the first night I couldn't sleep, I was surfing the net looking for a good Happy Norooz video, but couldn’t find any. So being a member of the EPSCF I go, Hey gurl, see if u can make your own video using windows video maker.

And voila, here’s my masterpiece:

This little bear has just come out of hibernating :D

Thank youuuuuuuuuuuu Frieda for your kind concern. All is well, and I am working on making it even better. So what have I been up to? Well, this cozy cold weather had put me into a deep soothing sleep…an awakening sleep.

What have I woken up to? That I want to set sail on a vagabond voyage…ok maybe not in the true sense of the word, but I want to step onto that open-ended road…the road with many forks…the unknown.

"One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time."

…and so she resigns…she quits her well paying job, her great colleagues, the position she focused all her positive energy on getting, and all for what? All for the unknown.

Well not exactly the unknown…my plan is to travel around Iran to as many places as possible. Hopefully the trips would grant me the thing I lost some time back in 2006…my passion.

Happy Eid, Christmas and Yalda Night

Ouch my poor tummy. Yesterday (21st of December) I ate so much nuts (especially tomato toasted cashew), pomegranate, grapes and melon that I...hold on a sec...[censored]

Ok, now I am feeling better. I can go...so where was I? Oh why did I ate so much you ask..well coz last night was Shab-e-Yalda :D :D :D....Translation==Yalda Nigh

Instead of me explaning what Yalda night is, let me take the lazy (aka immoral) way out and copy the explanation from other sites ;p

From Payvand (including the pix)


Tehran, Dec 21, IRNA - Iranians throughout the world will celebrate the longest night of the Iranian calendar year, Yalda, in a tradition welcoming the birthday of the Goddess of Love, Mitra.

Yalda, the last night of autumn and the beginning of winter, is observed in every Iranian family here or abroad with ethnic roots to Iran. On Yalda night, which this year falls on December 21, members of the family stay together, narrate old stories told by ancestors, play traditional games and eat dried and fresh fruits symbolizing various things.

Pomegranates, placed on top of a fruit basket, are reminders of the cycle of life -- the rebirth and revival of generations. The purple outer covering of a pomegranate symbolizes "birth" or "dawn" and their bright red seeds the "glow of life." Watermelons, apples, grapes, sweet melons and persimmon are other special fruits served on Yalda night and all are symbols of freshness, warmth, love, kindness and happiness.

The Syranic word "yalda," meaning "birth," has its origins in ancient Persia and has come to symbolize a tradition observed since a thousand years ago in any Iranian family. Ancient Iranians believed that the dawning of each year is marked with the re-emergence or rebirth of the sun, an event which falls on the first day of the month of Dey in the Iranian calendar (December 21). On this day, the sun was salvaged from the claws of the devil, which is represented by darkness, and gradually spread its rays all over the world to symbolize the triumph of good over evil.

Since Yalda night is the longest and darkest night of the year, it has come to symbolize many things in Persian poetry -- separation from a loved one, loneliness and waiting. After the night is over a transformation takes place -- the waiting is over, a new life begins and good triumphs over evil. Reading poems of the Iranian poet, Hafez, is one of the most familiar activities on Yalda night.

Mehrbano's Musical Ensemble in Kuwait

Pic from 'The Daily Star'

So in the 9 years I lived in Tehran how many times did I go a traditional Iranian concert—> Zilch

How many traditional music Cd did I buy?->Zilch

How many traditional singles did I listen to?-> Zilch

How many times did I switch channels and radio stations when a traditional music came on?-> Billions

How excited did I become when I found out that Dar AlـAthar AlـIslamiyah would be hosting a traditional Iranian concert?-> Jumped up so high doing the dance of joy that my head damaged the ceiling.

And what a night it was. A rejuvenating night for my soul for it was my soul not body that danced to the melody of the music. Now I know why people close their eyes, smile and wave their head side to side when listening to music…I was doing that!!!!!

The best part of the evening was the encore. Once their performance was over, the crowd drew them back on stage with their cheers. They played the Iranians version of a Kurdish song they had previously played earlier. Then when the clapping of the crowd died down, the vocalist sang: Ey Iran, ey marzeh por ghohar.

This was when my mom’s soul was revived. She started to sing along with them and the Iranians in the audience (which incidentally weren’t too many) clapped all through the song. I must confess that their version of “Ey Iran” was the best I have ever seen or heard.

Unfortunately, my phone camera didn’t have enough space to record, the quality is not that good anyway, and I was too busy enjoying the show to shoot anything anyway, but here’s a couple of videos:

VIDEO 1

VIDEO 2

VIDEO 3 (Kurdish Song)

More info from the Daily Star

Iman Maleki's Omens of Hafez

I love the emails forwarded from my friends. One particular email that I have received numerous times from various people is the paintings of Iman Maleki.

First time I saw his painting entitled “Omen of Hafiz” I froze--there was something in there that took me far away. Away to an era lost somewhere in the back alleys of my memories, away to a land my soul longed to connect… but never did—it never could---a fantom force held it back.

I saved that painting as my wallpaper...but only for a moment…I had to change it quickly, the emotions it provoked were too strong for me.

Yesterday, another friend forwarded another email of his paintings. My soul is at rest now. It's connecting :)

Here’s the painting

Here's a slide show of his other paintings:

Iman Maleki's Site

"The Distance"

I wrote this post on my old blog but just realized I never published it. It was in the drafts. Well, Mirror Polisher is publishing it:

I dunno why these days every time I listen to an Iranian song I automatically start translating it in my head. It forces me to go beyond the melody, relate to the words, live the story behind the lyrics so to speak.Anyway, this particular song kinda reminds me of a past conversation between my two souls:

“The Distance” by Siavash Ghomeshi

I say, “They destroyed me; they put out the lanterns of my eyes;

You say, “God is here; he would place the moon in your hands.

I say, “But that was my heart that was thrown into the mud.”

You say, “Least you have your health; the mirrors are clear and pure.”

And so this is why one can’t fill the distance with tears.

One of us is a lively spring; the other an autumn in agony.

I say, “The distance between your hand and mine is death.”

You say, “This distance is the love between us.”

“I say, “Now should I suffer or endure the pain?”

You say, It makes no difference; nothing would be lost.”

I say, “This is what you lose—a life gone can’t be re-lived.

You say, “That’s the whole story; you are but a leaf in the wind.