Variete

On Friday, June 29th, Sokhan Society presented a documentary on "Jashnwareh 100 Year of
Cinema in Iran" hosted by Mrs. Fereshteh Taerpour, "Chair of the board of director of Khaneh
Film In Iran", in San Mateo, California. The Jashnwareh was an opportunity to both pay respect and homage to hundreds of actors, actresses, directors, and producers of the last 100 years and to all those who had a share in elevating Iran's movie industry to its current status. The winners of the year were also awarded in this ceremony.

Although many of those who have done so much for Iran's cinema were completely forgotten and absent and although the attention to some others only scratched the surface, given the limitations, the Jashnwareh was done professionally and with many individuals' hard work. This program was followed by another short video covering "Traditional Iranian Music" performed by 6 young women.

@@@@@@@@@

Faraj Sarkoohi the writer/journalist whose imprisonment in Iran made big headlines all over the Iranian and European media a couple of years ago and was released after one year sentence because of Intrnational pressure, was invited to Berkeley by the Center for Dialogue, on Saturday, June 9th 2001. His lecture at Valley Life Science auditorium at U.C. Berkeley was a full house.

In his lecture Mr. Sarekoohi talked about his days in the prisons of the Islamic Repulic (Once 48 days and the second time 1 year), the reasons for his release, and the grants awarded to him by the German literary institutions.

The main topic of his speech was "Journalism, Writing, Censorship and Self-Censorship in Iran." He went on to describe what it means to be a journalist/writer in Iran of today, hardships of both government and personal censorships and how those who have been able to continue, survive. His speech was extremely touching. He candidly answered all questions asked. Mr. Sarkoohi was scheduled to visit serveral other cities of the U.S. following his lecture at Berkeley.

On Saturday June 23rd, 2001 Master Mohammad Reza Lotfi, performed a fenomenal concert at Julia Morgan Theatre at Berkeley, California. He was accompanied by Mr. Mohammad Ghavihelm an excellent Tombak and Daf expert. Mr. Lotfi is one of the greatest contemporary masters of the Tar and Setar. His innovative approach of combining the classical with folk elements, both in terms of music and technicque, injects a new vitality into a very old tradition. He has been called the father of a new aesthetics in Persian music. His concert was well received by both the Iranian and non-Iranian communities of the Bay Area with several standing ovations in his honor. Mr. Lotfi has also a warm and soothing voice, and had a duo with Mr. Ghavihelm playing Tombak and finally because of several requests, he finished the concert by playing Kamancheh.

http://www.chasque.net/parzaraz/robcd.htm

Only Iranians can appreciate in its original
language, the double magnificence of Rubaiyat: as a
masterpiece of universal thought and as one of the
jewels in the crown of poetry.

Parvin Zarazvand's interpretation is not
intended for a big audience, but for the single listener. Moreover, she does not recite a
monotonous litany, only tolerable for its poetic values. Her style, exquisite and unique, is
characterized by the persuasive warmth of her diction, with a sometimes lively, intimate or
overwhelming mode, in a climate definitively personal. Hers, is a message to the
intelligence, which may be also enjoyed as a background music, thanks to the harmonies of rhyme.

Pari Zangeneh in The Bay Area

On Saturday June 16th, 2001 Pari Zangeneh the Iranian suprano had a concert in San Mateo Performing Arts Center presented by Society of Iranian Art & Culture.

She was incredible. Her voice is an exquisite soprano. She sang with such beauty and from the heart, and could truly contact with her audience, despite her blindness. She also sang several floklore persian songs, taking a bit mature audience to the past and mesmerised the young ones.. It was all beauty and emotions that night and she looks great too.

A non-profit organization has been set up in Los Angeles in memory of the late Persian poet, Nader Naderpour. Among the goals of the organizations are preservation of Naderpour's wors, publish a complete collectgion of his prose and poetry, develop a web site in Persian and English devoted to Naderpour's life and works, and host periodic symposiums. Donations for the foundation are now being requested.

Recent excavations in the ancient region of Bisotoon have uncovered artifacts dating from the Parthian era. According to Assadollah Piavand the Director of the Cultural Heritage Organization of Kermanshah Province the artifacts date back to 300 B.C. - 200 A.D. The discovery was made in an excavation taking place in the northern part of the Bisotoon monumental site next to the statue of Hercules.

Three castles estimated to be thirty five hundred years old have been found in Dooshan-Tappeh, west of Tehran. These castles are estimated to be part of the ancient Aryan civilization. The structures with walls up to two thousand square meters in living space and walls several meters thick were probably used for a public purpose, just what purpose has not been announce.

Zoroastrians Gather in Central Iran

CHAKCHAK, Iran (AP) June 17 - Dressed in light colors to symbolize purity,
thousands of Iranian Zoroastrians gathered at the mountainous Chakchak
temple in central Iran for a five-day pilgrimage to celebrate one of the
world's oldest religions.
Five thousand Iranian Zoroastrians and 100 co-religionists from abroad are
concluding the fourth of five days of religious ceremonies that predate
Islam. Some 135,000 Zoroastrians - more than half of the world's estimated
total of 212,000 - live in Iran.

Chakchak, about 250 miles southeast of Tehran, is home to a sacred well
used for prayers and a holy tree, known as ``The Cane of the Good Lady.''

Pilgrims hope to purify themselves and to have their prayers answered at
the temple, among the most sacred of Zoroastrian sites.

The main tenets of the religion are written on the main gate of the
temple: ``Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds.''

Despite its few adherents in modern-day, overwhelmingly Muslim Iran,
Zoroastrianism continues to have a strong influence on national custom.
The religion is named after its prophet Zoroaster, or Zarathustra.

Iranians celebrate the New Year in March with the Chahar-Shanbe Suri, or
the Wednesday Feast, by lighting bonfires, firecrackers and dancing in the
streets, hoping to put failures behind them and start the new year with
prosperity.

On the longest night of the year, Iranians buy fruit, nuts and other
goodies to mark the feast of Yalda, an ancient tradition when families get
together and stay up late, swapping stories and munching on snacks.

Both celebrations have Zoroastrian roots and are frowned upon by Islamic
hard-liners who say the ceremonies contradict Islamic traditions.

The central theme of Zoroastrianism is the struggle between the good Ahura
Mazda and the evil Ahriman, a belief that is thought to have influenced
later religions from Judaism to Islam.

The belief in a messiah, which Zoroaster taught would come to save the
world, also is thought to have been taken by later religions.