water

Washing dishes in the village of Lavason, Iran. All rights reserved.
Let’s not muddy the water.
Imagine that close by a dove
is drinking from it,
or in a distant grove a finch
is washing its wings in it,
or in some village it fills a storage jar.
Let’s not muddy the water.
Perhaps this flowing stream runs
by the foot of a poplar [...]

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 [...]

hamed nikpay

A remarkable talent and an amazing voice: Hamed Nikpay’s music takes me back to Tehran’s old “khocheh baagh’s” (narrow streets separating beautiful gardens of Tehran), the remains of which can still be found in places like Darband or Maghsood Beig.  At the same time, his music amazingly represents a multi-cultural background and his recent songs show a [...]

khalil gibran

A whirling dervish or Semazen in Turkey
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between [...]