Henna Arts

I originally wrote this entry on August 6, 2004 and published it on blogs.sun.com.

Catherine Cartwright-Jones of Kent State University has put together a brief but interesting history of henna. Her website also includes an encyclopedia of henna. Henna has now become part of the Americana with followers from New England to Hollywood.

Here's a picture of my daughter Yasmine on her 10th birthday. (Sunday 04-04-04, April 4, 2004. How uncommon is that?) The henna design on her hand is a rather simple pattern.

Here's a picture of both my daughters (Negin is the 6-year-old) on the same day. On the top left corner, a friend of Yasmine's is drying her hennaed hand.

Economist Photo Essay on the Iranian Revolution

The Economist has hosted a photo essay on the Iranian Revolution.

Modern Rendition of a Classical Theme

Hamed Nikpay, a local Persian artist in the Bay Area, has rendered a modern poem in classical tradition on a Persian-Spanish instrumental fusion. You can watch the video below. (Links to the CD are given on YouTube.)

Emad Khorasani is the poet, and his poem is well-rooted in the classic "modern Persian" ("modern" as opposed to "middle" or "old" Persian of pre-8th century days).

Self and the Other

In The Analects (or Lun Yü), one sees Confucius' developing various ideas about the self vs. the other. Here is an example:

The Master said, "If one learns from others but does not think, one will be bewildered. If, on the other hand, one thinks but does not learn from others, one will be in peril."

-The Analects, II.15, trans. by D. C. Lau.

Confucius' Life Through His Own Words

The Master said, "At fifteen I set my heart on learning; at thirty I took my stand; at forty I came to be free from doubts; at fifty I understood the Decree of Heaven; at sixty my ear was atuned; at seventy I followed my heart's desire without overstepping the line."

-The Analects, II.4, trans. by D. C. Lau.

What a glorious life !

References: Confucius, A Great Philosopher-Prophet