the good, the bad and the ugly

Mother and daughter preparing tea in Lavasan, Iran. All rights reserved.
He let his mind drift as he stared at the city, half slum, half paradise.  How could a place be so ugly and violent, yet beautiful at the same time?
-Chris Abani, Graceland
I came across this quote tonight while reading a book on poverty and the [...]

the real life

I sit here writing tonight from a friend’s apartment in the north of Tehran, Iran.  For a moment, I almost feel as if I’m in the States.  As I write this post, Oprah is talking to Dr. Oz on TV. The AC is blasting and I have a can of coca-cola sitting on the desk [...]

ignorance!

On the way to a conference last week, I was faced with a more or less challenging situation: an intense dialogue among a few colleagues about the significance of different cultures in world history and development.  This is a complex topic and it’s hard to make simple conclusions on the matter.  I want to write about this [...]

international dance

Last week, on Sunday morning while the streets of New York City showed small signs of spring but cold winter winds could still freeze my bones early in the morning, we got on the bus to go to Manhattan for a special event.  The Iranian community in New York (and many other parts of the [...]

learning lessons

As a young child growing up, I would listen to famous classical singers of my parents’ generation such as Hayedeh and Mahasti. Mind you, this was not my choice. My mother loved (and continues to love) classical music and the depth of their songs, their voices. So what seemed like every day, we would listen [...]