An Iranian music band conducted by Pejman Taheri will perform a concert in Austria on January 19 to the accompaniment of Shahram Nazeri as the vocalist.
According to MNA, the concert is part of programs to commemorate Molana Jalaleddin Rumi, well-known Iranian mystic and poet, in that country.
Instrumentalists of the group include Pejman Taheri (on the dulcimer), Ordvan Taheri (on the traditional string instrument Setar), Siavash Pourfazli (Tar, a string instrument) and Rashid Kakavand (Tonbak, a percussion instrument).
Nazeri is the recipient of the ’Cavalier Badge for Literature and Art’ (chevalier des arts et Lettres) awarded by the French government.
He was given the award in recognition of the meticulous attention he has paid to musical interpretation and vocalization of transcendent lyrics of Iranian poet and mystic Molana Jalaleddin Rumi.

Second Written Satire Festival concluded on Sunday after naming the best works and honoring prominent translator and author Najaf Daryabandari at Andisheh Hall.
According to ISNA, the festival, attended by noted cultural figures Kioumars Monshizadeh and Nasser Feiz, announced the winners in five sections of prose, poetry, story, script and open.
Abdollah Moqaddam, Alireza Labesh and Hamid Ta’ammoli took the first, second and third place, respectively. Omid Mehdinejad topped in the festival’s prose section themed ’Elections’.
Rahim Rasouli came first in the poetry section, while Fereidoun Hashemi was selected as the best in the special poetry section.
Hamed Hassanlou, Mohsen Hakim-Mae’ani and Iraj Afshar, were among the best in the story section. In the script category Amir Hossein Tajbakhsh ranked first, Arjang Hatami and Leila Ne’mat took the second and third places, respectively.
Meanwhile, Daryabandari was awarded by his actress wife, Fahimeh Rastkar.
Expressing pleasure over the ceremony, Rastkar said, “I thank all young poets at the event. Composing poetry is not easy and they have done a great job.“
Live music was performed on the sidelines of the event.

Behzad Rahimian won the top award at the First Cinema Book of the Year Festival.

First Festival for Cinema Book of the Year was held in Osveh Hall on January 6.
According to ISNA, Abbas Baharloo and Jamal Omid were honored during the event in which tribute was also paid to the late Morteza Avini. Addressing the gathering, deputy minister of culture and Islamic guidance, Mohammad Reza Jafari-Jelveh said that publications on cinema have not yet been duly dealt with while cinema is the outcome of intellectual ambience of the cineastes.
Managing director of Cinema House, Reza Mir-Karimi also said that book tops the media while cinema and TV are its pillars.
“Book, as the mother of other media, supports them in promoting culture,“ he said, noting that cinema itself needed the support.
Announcing that a research center will be launched within Cinema House, Mir-Karimi further said that Book Festival, in which 11 entries were nominated for the final section, was also planned.
“Competition was very tight and we increased the number of main awards from three statuettes to five,“ he said, adding that the awards aim to hail those who contributed to producing books in the field.
Ali Moallem, conductor of the ceremony, for his part, said that cinematic literature experienced a considerable growth following the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and Iran is among the top ten in the world in this field.
One of the main award of Best Cinema Book of the Year went to ’Rowzaneh Film Guide’ which was compiled by Behzad Rahimian.
The 1,400-page book, which is comprehensive in the field, was edited by Kambiz Kahe, Hassan Hosseini, Maziyar Eslami, Leila Arjmand, Ali Ameri, Saeed Elyasi and some other noted film writers and translators.

Noted researcher of ancient literature said that snow considered auspicious phenomenon in Iranian myths.
Speaking to Fars news agency, Mir Jalaleddin Kazzazi also said that the Persian word ’Barf’ meaning snow in English is an Indo-European term which is still in use in some local Persian parlance.
Snow derives its auspiciousness from it whiteness, which was a symbol of happiness in Iranian culture, he said.
An outstanding function of snow is seen in ancient tale about Keikhosrow, who is an ideal and devotional king of ancient Persia.
He suddenly abandons the throne while he was at the zenith of power and turns to piety. He leaves the city for an abode in the mountains accompanied by several famed Iranian heroes. Then he bids farewell to those who are present and vanishes in the snow-covered mountain.
It seems that snow borders between the earth world and paradise.
Commenting on famous poem on snow in ancient Persian literature, he also said that Kamaleddin Esmaeil Sepahani has composed an ode on snow. The word ’Barf’ has been repeated at the end of each couplet.

Akbar Radi

Second award ceremony for dramatic literature began in Artists House on Saturday by paying tribute to the late Akbar Radi, noted playwright.
According to ISNA, participants at the event observed a one-minute silence in respect for the memory of the late playwright Akbar Radi.
Speaking at the event, Mohammad Mohammad Ali, a writer, eulogized Radi and said that clarity is evident in his all works.
Qotboddin Sadeqi, a member of panel of jury of the competition, also said that it is difficult to speak about a great man such as Radi.
Although theater will not collapse with his death, it is a great loss for this branch of art, he said.
Describing Radi as one of the eternal pillars of Iranian theater since the 1960s, he further said that he was a playwright who remained faithful to theater.
“He portrayed intellectuals who lived in sorrow and their only contribution was failure,“ he said, adding that he did not merely laud them; rather explained the reasons for the emergence of such conditions.
Radi’s language was filled with images and he was committed to literature and humanity, he said, noting that he has created influential works.
Meanwhile, Ezzatollah Entezami, noted actor, recalled the roles he played in five plays by Radi.
He also called for setting up a committee to select key plays for translation into Persian language so as to prevent choosing items based on personal interests.
The first prize at the Dramatic Literature Awards in the published plays category went to Mahmoud Nazeri for his ’A Room With Two Doors’ while the second prize was presented to Ali Reza Naderi for his ’In Honor of the Pure Life of Virtuous and Beautiful Young Adult’.
Chista Yasrebi and Naghmeh Samini jointly won the third prize in the same category.
In the unpublished short dramas category, Farhad Naqdali, Hassan Bayanlou took the first and second prizes respectively for ’Fossil One’ and ’Butterfly on Bell’ while Mehdi Koushki and Fares Baqeri jointly won the third award.

Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) plans to set up an Iranian garden in Oxford University, England, with the aim of developing cooperation in the cultural field.
Announcing this, Mohammad Kazem Kholdi-Nasab, director of ICHHTO’s International Bureau said that in line with this objective, heads of the organization’s Research Center for Monuments and Textures and Fund for Revival of Monuments will visit England later this month, reported MNA.
In recent years, Asian and European countries such as Japan and China have set up Chinese and Japanese gardens in Europe and the Americas to introduce their culture, he said, adding that Iran is also pursuing the same goal.
“Iranian officials will confer with the university’s chancellor about ways to expand cooperation in the field of cultural heritage during their stay in that country,“ he said.
Earlier, similar negotiations were conducted with Venezuelan officials and the experts are currently studying the conditions and the site of the garden. Most historians consider the Iranians to be the first creators of gardens.
Iranian gardens feature architectural, artistic and technical creativities, which are the outcome of experiences gained over the centuries.

Participation of 67 foreign companies in the 11th Iranian Film and TV Programs Market on the sidelines of this year’s Fajr International Film Festival has been finalized to date, said director of the market.
According to IRNA, Amir Esfandiari also added that the event will be held in Hejab Artistic Creations Center from February 2-6.
Stating that efforts are underway to attract a large number of foreign participants to the venue, he said that the interest of foreign entrepreneurs is indicative of a more glorious market compared to earlier rounds.
Holding the market has promoted the presence of Iranian cinema in the international scene, he said.
Describing film market as the suitable venue for presenting the latest works of Iranian cinema industry, he said that marketing Iranian products, forging a direct link with world markets and taking advantage of the opportunities facing the country’s cinema as among the objectives of the event.

Pedestals of Apadana Palace in Khuzestan province were destroyed by vandals.

Pedestals of Apadana Palace, located in the ancient site of Shoush in Khuzestan province, have been destroyed by vandals.
Announcing this, Mojtaba Gahestouni, spokesman for Association of Cultural Heritage Enthusiasts in Khuzestan province told CHN that the pedestals were broken into two pieces and the inscriptions obliterated.
“The motive for destroying the artifacts is not yet clear, but it is most likely due the ignorance of the vandals about the antiquity of the edifice,“ he said.
He added that the ancient site in Shoush, covering an area of 360-hectares, is not properly protected.
“Khuzestan Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Department undertook to fence off the area but this was not enough to prevent the people from entering the site,“ he said.
Gahestouni noted that the use of concrete and iron rods for fencing has caused further damage to the site.
Shoush ancient site is home to several historical and architectural structures dating back from the prehistoric to the early Islamic eras.