The Art
Drama Exhibition Film Literature Music
Editor's Corner
Editorial Feature Video
Around Town
Cafe Citylog Fiction Society Outdoors
Archive
Mailing List
I’ll Stay In Tehran
By Behnam B. Marandi
behnam@tehranavenue.com
March 2010
به فارسی بخوانيم
  Email to a friend


The arrangement of months follows a particular logic in Tehran. The second half of Farvardin and Ordibehesht are days of blissful stupor, Khordad is the time for school examinations and longer, warmer days. Tir is a month for traveling and summer fruits. Mordad marks the scorching of the earth. Shahrivar is spent in anticipation of the coolness that autumn shall bring, renewed chaos and school traffic marks Mehr. In Aban we witness the height of autumn’s splendor. Azar promises the winter cold. The month of Dey is the period of short and cold days. Bahman is the beginning of the end of darkness. And Esfand is a time for hurried newness.

But the first two weeks of Farvardin are truly special. The eternally hectic Tehran turns calm and clean. Its angry frown is replaced by an exuberant smile. Its hideous appearance becomes pretty and pleasing. Many use this two-week-long holiday to go on trips. Others come to Tehran from near and far. But it is obvious that those who leave the city far outnumber those that stay; thus the city-wide calm. Spending time with friends and family seems to be the only occupation in the days following Noruz: no schools, no work, no business, they’re all pretty much shut down. yir8.bbm.72.jpg

I have always preferred to hang out in the city during the holidays. There is none other like it in the entire year; although I imagine this year things will be different. I’m not sure exactly why, and I can’t say how it will be different. It is as if I am thrown into a different dimension of life. There is a mixture of anxiety and a bit of hope flowing within me. Maybe I do have reasons, after only for the first two months things were normal in the city. The rest of the year refused to abide by the natural cycle of seasons and month that I described earlier. It’s as if a moneylender is insisting on settling an old debt. He has grabbed the city by its collar and is shaking it this way and that. Having to face the lender, Tehran is devastated.

But we knew about this debt, and are witnesses to its legitimacy. We want it to be settled once and for all so that we can get back to our normal lives. We shall find out if it's going to in the year to come.

Translated by {Saeed Ganji}



Top