Category Archives: Six Pillars to Persia

Six Pillars to Persia. You can subscribe to this podcast channel at this address: http://feeds.feedburner.com/sixpillars

Six Pillars – The .Com Father

On a visit to the UK, the founder of the largest website for Iranians in the world, Iranian.com visits the studio. Jahanshah Javid devotes his life to the website, known for its user generated content, and the catch-phrase ‘nothing is sacred’. Here the interview moves into other topics with interviewer Fari Bradley playing devil’s advocate on certain issues to scuffle up a debate.

After all, that’s what comment led content is about these days….

This show was originally aired on 104.4FM in February 2010

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Six Pillars – Persian Maps

“History and geography are the basis of all the humanities.“

After falling in love with a map of Persia in Harrods, Dr Ala’i spent years researching the cartography of Iran and Persia before publishing two large volumes by Brill, on different maps of Persia from the 1400s to 1925.

Dr Ala’i was invited by Iran Heritage to give a talk in January 2011 on his extensively researched specialty, and Six Pillars interviewed him to find out more about this passion of his.

This is the whole interview, the first part of which was broadcast in January 2011 on Six Pillars to Persia, from the Resonance104.4Fm studios, London.

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Six Pillars – Persian Cartography

Prior to a talk arranged by Iran Heritage, the estimable Dr Alai discusses how phonetics, fashion, social hierarchies and myth enter the world Persian cartography. With perhaps the largest personal collection of Persian maps Dr Alai has published two immense volumes on the topic both of which have been included in Brills Handbook list for the Middle East.

His talk tonight: “Special Maps of Iran” in London, is free to attend at SOAS, University of London.

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Six Pillars – Sufi’s Night

January 22nd 2011 Festival of Arts presents a night of improvised music and experimental Iranian dance: Sufi’s Night

Fusing the influences of disciplined dances such as tango and flamenco, Iranian dance takes on an almost Indian Kathak like energy, and the dramatic motions of the two performers Shahrokh Meshkin Ghalam and Karine Gonzales convey all the regal dignity of the epic stories and emotions they relate.

Here we interview daf impresario Hossein Zahavi, who is playing percussion on the night, and table maestro Yusuf Mamud who will be performing on vocals and tabla.

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Six Pillars – The First UK Iranian Film Festival

November saw the launch of the London’s first Iranian Film Festival: UKIFF.

In late October we met with one of the volunteers, Costas Sarkas, at one of UKIFF’s networking events, to find out what it was all about.

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Six Pillars – Britain Retold

Photographer Sara Shamsawari exhibits a selection from her series in City Hall entrance until January 4th.

The exhibition is a series of engaging portraits around the symbolism of the union jack with all its connotations. The photos are accompanied by statements and both promote a questioning of our ideas  of what it means to be British now.

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Six Pillars – Drinking Arak Off An Ayatollah’s Beard

Venturing around Iran and Afghanistan with a copy of the Shahnameh tucked under his arm, Nicholas Jubber relates what this pivotal introduction taught him about modern people who still love this medieval text.

Jubber explains how The Shahnameh, or Persian Book of Kings, is still very much alive today for many people, even 1000 years after it’s completion.

His book certainly has it’s own style and he visited the Resonance104.4FM studios to explain certain points: from beards to butchers to free motorbikes.

This show was originally broadcast on 2nd August, 2010

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Six Pillars – The Shahnameh Exhibition, Cambridge

The Shahnameh or Persian Book of Kings, is an enormous poetic opus written by Ferdowsi a Persian poet, around 1000 AD. Despite it’s age  the book is still the national epic of the cultural sphere of Greater Persia.  Consisting of around 60,000 verses, the Shahnameh tells a mythical and historical tale of Greater Iran, from the creation of the world until the Islamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century.

The work is of central importance in Persian culture, we had a look at it on our show about the book Drinking Arak off an Ayatollah’s Beard. While regarded as a literary masterpiece, and definitive of ethno-national cultural identity of Iran the book is still quoted today by everyone from the illiterate to members of the government, and is the topic of many a puppet show and street theatre.  It is also important to the contemporary followers of Zoroastrianism and deals with central themes of good and evil. It’s a real treasure.

Charles Melville, Professor of Persian History at University of Cambridge discusses the show and it surrounding events.

The interview is interspersed with extracts from a talk given by Charles Melville at the Fitzwilliam Museum gallery where the illuminations and pieces are on show.

If you are interested in the book and its wider influence outside of Iran there is currently a show at Prince’s Galleries Charlotte Street (nearest tube Old Street). Amongst others Russian, Pakistani and Iranian artists respond to the Shahnameh (or Shahnama as it’s known in India) as part of their own cultural painting traditions. Six Pillars host Fari Bradley also has a sound piece on display there until mid December.

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Six Pillars – Leeds Diasporic Film Series

Sanaz Raj discusses her interest in Iranian film and a week of full length film screenings running in conjunction with the Leeds International Film Festival.  The week, called the Iranian Diasporic Film Series presents a variety of film: from a documentary about the Shah’s widow to a fiction about a lesbian refugee from Iran who takes on the identity of a dead male acquaintance.

Sanaz and Fari discuss the screenings and accompanying talks, as we well as ‘Certified Copy‘ Abbas Kiarostami’s latest film set in Italy, starring Juliette Binoche.

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Six Pillars – Iran Children’s Charity

To mark Children in Need Week Dr Helen Nejad from the NGO Iran Children’s Charity visits the studio to discuss their drive to raise money for kids in Iran. Focusing mainly on orphans, those without national status or on the streets, the charity aims to supply two university hospitals in Iran that treat children specifically.

‘In Search of Simorgh‘ is Iran Children’s Charity’s first fund-raising event, a Persian Heritage music and contemporary and traditional dance theatrical performance. The performance is based on 12th Century Sufi classic Conference of the Birds by Farid Uddi Attar, and also loosely on the stage adaptation by Peter Brook and Jean-Claude Carriere. Musicians from Europe play cello, kamanche, tar, santoor, daf and percussion and 7 dancers interpret the text so that there is no language barrier to enjoying the performance.

If you would like to help children in need by simply being entertained, then please complete and return the attached form, or book your ticket online through their event website www.insearchofsimorgh.com The event is hosted by Kids Company founder Camila Batmanghelidjh.

Logan Hall, 20 Bedford Way , London WC1H 0AL

Sunday 21st November

18:00 to 22:00 (programme starts at 19:00)

All funds raised from donations, ticket and raffle sales will be used to purchase Keyhole surgical and other operating theatre equipment for Mofid and Ali Asghar Children Hospitals. Their target over the years is a minimum of £30,000 per hospital for the equipment. Your contribution can really help to save lives of children who undergo operations, facilitate quicker recovery for many more, as well as bringing relief and a smile to their siblings and families.

Feel free to contact them by visiting www.iran-children-charity.org

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