WCHV has posted a new video for Chahar Shanbe Souri.

View it at this link. Or click on the picture.

Nowruz Award 1404 – 2025

Dr. Mohammad Rahim Sarraf, archaeologist, translator, and university professor, has received the Nowruz Award for Personality of the Year in the Field of Cultural Heritage.

• A lifetime of dedication to preserving and promoting Iran’s rich history and culture;

• Years of teaching and mentoring numerous doctoral students in archaeology, which has left an indelible mark on the field;

• Significant contribution to excavations such as Bishabur and Hegmataneh Hill;

• Research on the Uraman reliefs, demonstrating commitment to uncovering and understanding Iran’s past;

• Authorship of invaluable books like “Elamite Reliefs” and “The Religion of the Elamite Tribe,” along with numerous scholarly articles, and translation of works like “Sumerian and Akkad” and “Ancient Mesopotamian Art,” which have enriched the understanding of the cultural and historical heritage of the region.

Dr. Sarraf stands as a pioneering figure in Iranian archaeology. As one of the last professors and archaeologists trained both within Iran and abroad during the Pahlavi era, he has dedicated his career to serving Iran’s rich cultural heritage and history. Many of the post-revolutionary archaeology masters and doctoral students from the University of Tehran were privileged to learn under his tutelage.

Despite the turmoil of the Islamic Revolution and the war, a time when many archaeologists left Iran, Dr. Sarraf chose to return upon completing his studies. He has stated, “During the revolution, I was torn between leaving or staying. But I remembered the students who are waiting for the return of people like me who have been sent abroad to study and to pass on the knowledge they have learned. And I decided to stay.”

Dr. Sarraf’s students describe him as a professor with unwavering ethics, patience, and an endearing demeanor.

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Mr. Cyrus Zare, restorer of historical monuments and activist for the protection of cultural heritage, received the Nowruz Award for the personality of the year in the field of restoration of historical monuments:

– More than forty years of restoration work in various historical heritage sites throughout Iran

– Supervising the Bam Citadel Restoration Group after the earthquake

– Organizing some museums, including the Siraf Museum and the restoration of pottery at The Persian Gulf Maritime Museum

– Collaborating in the production of the four-part documentary series “A Tour of Persepolis” with “Mohammad Ali Inanlu”

– Making documentaries to familiarize the younger generation with Iranian history and culture and advising them on making such documentaries.

Zare is one of the best restorers and activists for preserving Iran’s cultural and historical heritage after the Islamic Revolution. He was born in Marvdasht. And like most people in Fars Province, especially Marvdasht, he has been familiar with important parts of Iran’s historical and cultural monuments since childhood and has had a special interest and attention to them, so much so that if you ask him where he was born, he will simply say: “Next to Persepolis Cyrus Zare chose restoration work as a job at the age of twenty-nine, but over time he became deeply familiar with the values of cultural and historical heritage and, as he himself says, “fell in love” with this profession. Restoring these monuments was no longer a “job” for him, but a necessity to preserve the values of these treasures of his homeland. And after that, he devoted all his time to learning restoration work (from Iranian and non-Iranian masters) of this profession.

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Ms. Minoo Ejleh, publisher and civil activist, received the Nowruz Award for “Person of the Year in Publishing” in the field of publications:

• • Twenty-seven years of efforts in publishing books for children, women, and Iranian history abroad

• • Publishing books related to literature, the history of Iran, and Islam that are banned in Iran

• • Helping to publish the works of Iranian writers and artists in exile and registering them in collections for a free Iranian tomorrow

• • Helping to preserve the Persian language abroad through the publication of children’s books

Ms. Minoo Ajelleh is the first female Iranian publisher abroad. While many women have published their own works or their own publications abroad after the revolution, Ajelleh chose “Forough Publishing” as a career. She and her husband, Mr. Hamid Mehdizadeh, chose “Forough Publishing” not only as a profession with which to make a living, but also as a useful (and non-market) tool to help preserve the Persian language and to help reflect the knowledge and new ideas of freedom-loving and Iran-friendly writers. Together, they have been in charge of managing this publishing house for twenty-seven years, to the extent that some now know Ms. Ajelleh by the name of Forough. In addition to her duties as a publisher, Ajelleh has spent years collaborating and participating in programs and meetings organized in Germany and other European countries for “Books Without Censorship.”

Following an annual tradition, the Pasargad Heritage Foundation has selected a name for the upcoming solar year 1404 on the eve of Nowruz, the most significant holiday and celebration in Iranian culture.

This year, the Foundation has designated the new year as the year of “Celebration of the Persian Language.” As always, the Foundation’s goal for naming the year is to highlight the rich and compassionate aspects of Iranian culture while raising awareness of detrimental practices that threaten our heritage and culture.

While we celebrate the diversity of languages spoken in our land, it is important to recognize the unique role of Persian language. As one of the first languages used in our ancient land, and the language in which most of our cultural, historical and literary works have been written—even during periods of Turkish and Arab invasion—Persian is inextricably linked to our national identity.

The Pasargad Heritage Foundation has always been dedicated to preserving Iranian history and culture. In light of the recent resurgence of national pride and the hope for a brighter future for our homeland, we believe it is crucial to further strengthen our national identity.

We have therefore designated the upcoming year as the “Year of the Persian Language.” We invite you to join us in celebrating and promoting our rich linguistic heritage.

This year marks the 90^th anniversary of the establishment of the first Academy of Iran in 1935. This institution was founded by decree of Reza Shah and with the approval of Mohammad Ali Foroughi and the cabinet to reform the Persian language and script. Its goals included refining the Persian language by removing inappropriate non-Persian words, reforming the Persian script, preparing a modern grammar, and encouraging poets and writers to create valuable works in Persian.

We believe that recognizing this anniversary is especially important now as the Persian language faces challenges in our country. It is concerning that even members of the ruling government use non-Persian words, prayers, and slogans in their Nowruz announcements. Commemorating the Academy’s establishment can serve as a reminder and a positive step toward preserving the Persian language.

The Pasargad Heritage Foundation has designated the solar year of 1404 (globally 2025) as the “Year of Celebrating the Persian Language.” We invite everyone to join us in this celebration by writing and speaking about the Persian language. By sharing knowledge and insights, we can help to familiarize the roots and values of this language, especially among the younger generations.

We believe that by working together, we can raise awareness of the importance of the Persian language and ensure its continued vitality for generations to come.

Happy Nowruz! Wishing everyone a beautiful and blessed Iranian New Year.

Shokooh Mirzadegi

Pasargad Heritage Foundation

Nowruz 1404 – March 2025

The Rich History of the Persian Language in India

By Dr. Kaveh Farrokh

The article written by Maryam Papi entitled “The Persian language has a rich history in India, but it’s slowly dying out” appeared in Quart India on September 7, 2017. It was first posted  on Scroll.in. The article published in Kavehfarrokh.com has been slightly edited. Prior to reading the article printed below, readers are also directed to the Persian Heritage journal’s 2019 publication of a two-part article on Persephobia written by Kaveh Farrokh, Sheda Vasseghi and Javier Sánchez-Gracia:

• • Farrokh, K., Vasseghi, Sh., & Sánchez-Gracia, J. (2019). Western Persephobia: a brief overview and possible reasons for its origins (Part 1). Persian Heritage, 94, pp.23-24.

• • Farrokh, K., Vasseghi, Sh., & Sánchez-Gracia, J. (2019). Western Persephobia: a brief overview and possible reasons for its origins (Part 2). Persian Heritage, 95, pp.22-23.

Note the following excerpt from the above article(s) with respect to British rule:

From the outset of the establishment of their rule in India, the British attitude towards Iran was ambivalent at best, and unfavorable towards the Persian language in particular. The English Education Act of 1835 essentially banned the teaching of Persian in India and its official use in Indian courts. Up to this time, Indians of diverse backgrounds (Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, etc.) were able to rely on Persian as a common Lingua Franca. Eliminating Persian was instrumental for the solidification of British rule over the Indian subcontinent. India’s large and diverse population was now also cut off from a wide swathe of Persian-speakers in Central Asia, Afghanistan and Iran. To further weaken the bonds between India’s Hindus, Muslim, Sikhs, etc. the British East Company also supported the promotion of extremist Islamist cults seeking to eliminate Persian and Indian cultural influences.

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It is difficult to think of Persian as an Indian language today. Yet for hundreds of years, Farsi held sway as a language of administration and high culture across the subcontinent. It was brought in by Persophile central Asians during the 12th century, and played a role very similar to the one English does in modern India. So, in the 17th century, when the Marathi Shivaji wanted to communicate with Rajasthani Jai Singh, the general of the Mughal army in the Deccan, they used Farsi.

The elite of 19th century Bengal were bilingual in Farsi (Persian in English) and Bangla. Raja Rammohan Roy edited and wrote in a Farsi newspaper, and the favorite poet of Debendranath Tagore, Rabindranth’s father, was Hafez, a 14th century poet from Iran. So impactful was Farsi’s role that India’s largest language today, Hindi, takes its name from a Farsi word meaning “Indian.” With the coming of the Raj, English replaced Farsi, but pockets of the language still survive in India. This is an extract from the diary of a Persian teacher in Kolkata …

Kolkata Diary

This is my third visit to Kolkata and I am still overwhelmed with joy to see the city flourishing culturally. Kolkata’s extreme paradoxes, an intellectual environment existing alongside deprivation, create a combination of joy and struggle. My most educated Indian friends are from Bengal. I can see many similarly educated people on the streets of Kolkata. Every day, on their way to work, these intellectuals walk past crowds of hawkers and people washing themselves under the municipal water taps. Everything is wet in the monsoon, yet water is still a relief for people who live in the street.

A view provided by Maryam Papi of a student writing in Persian on a whiteboard (Source: Maryam Papi).

Kolkata does not show its reality to a tourist who only goes to the Victoria Memorial or Birla Mandir—the real Kolkata is on its streets. Part of this reality is also buried in the South Park Street Cemetery. This is where people like Sir William Jones (1746-1794), the founder of the Asiatic Society and the father of Orientalism, and Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (1809-1831) have been laid to rest.

I went to this cemetery in the heart of the city, on a weekend, along with a group of Farsi language students who were attending the summer school held in Lady Brabourne College. The students gathered next to Sir William Jones’s tomb and listened to their professor, who was explaining how Jones had served oriental studies during his short life in the city.

Persian and Bengali

Looking for the city’s Persian legacies, the same group of students found their way to St John’s Church, where Farsi inscriptions are engraved upon the structure. They recount the life and death of people like William Hamilton, the surgeon who served the Mughal emperor Farrukh Siyar in Delhi. Farsi was a major language in the subcontinent for several hundred years. Despite Bengali having many words in common with Farsi, in Bengal, there are no longer any native speakers of Farsi.

It is still taught in a few schools of Kolkata as an optional subject. Some colleges, such as Lady Brabourne and Maulana Azad, have Farsi departments. Hearing the Farsi words coming out of their classrooms, it seems as though the Bengali tongue has forgotten how to pronounce Farsi words. The students could not read the inscriptions on St John’s Church, even though most were Muslims, familiar with Urdu.

At a two-week summer school in Lady Brabourne College, organized by the Institute of Indo-Persian Studies, 54 students from various colleges in Kolkata had the chance to learn Farsi from native speakers for the first time. Some students could recite Farsi poems but as a native Farsi speaker, I could not grasp anything they said. The students in the Bachelor’s program as well as some completing their Master’s had to go back to the Farsi alphabet, to learn its correct sound and to distinguish letters like “f” and “p,” which were being pronounced in a similar way due to their vernacular accent.

Next, they moved on to the formation and usage of simple and complex Farsi words, and reading out Farsi text in a proper Farsi accent. On the fourth day, they began memorizing the ghazals of Hafez and Khusro and Iqbal. They also glimpsed the magnificent worlds of Firdausi, Rumi, Hafiz, Khusro, and others.

Considering things from a wider perspective, I wondered how this poetry might change their lives. Would an understanding of Sufism in Farsi poetry create better human beings? The literature may change their world outlook. But what is more solid? The grammar of a language or the rules of a society?

A view provided by Maryam Papi of Bengali students of the Persian language (Source: Maryam Papi).

Tagore connection

I was teaching Farsi through films to familiarize students with the everyday life of Iran, and to improve their listening skills. To my surprise, I realised that the Farsi studies students did not know much about Iranian culture. They were not even familiar with well-known film directors from the country.

Some of my questions were answered at Rabindranath Tagore’s house, another location the Farsi students visited as a part of the extracurricular program provided by the summer school. The house has been turned into a museum, and certain rooms have been used to depict the cultural interaction between Tagore’s home country and some of those he visited. Each of these rooms serves as a reflection on the cultural connections between India and the country visited by him. There is no room dedicated, however, to the Indo-Iranian cultural connections of Tagore—despite his having traveled to Iran twice in a two-year period. Considering such negligence of Indo-Iranian heritage, it is no wonder that the Iranian Embassy and the Iranian Cultural Center in New Delhi made a minimal financial contribution to Kolkata’s Farsi summer school.

A view provided by Maryam Papi of students learning the Persian language (Source: Maryam Papi).

Promotion versus Preservation

Iran might be the home of the Farsi language, but it is also spoken in countries like Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Despite having a claim over Farsi, the Iranian government does little to promote the language abroad. In a place like India, Farsi does not need to be promoted—it merely needs to be preserved. Most Farsi manuscripts lie unused and locked in Indian libraries and archives. The task of documenting, digitizing, and preserving these manuscripts is beyond the capabilities of Persian Studies Centers in India.

A view provided by Maryam Papi of an Indian enthusiast of the Persian language applying ink on Persian poetry that has been etched upon a stone stand (Source: Maryam Papi).

The future of the Farsi language in India is ambiguous. Efforts are underway by the president of IIPS, professor Syed Akhtar Husain, to revitalize the language as well as Indo-Persian culture. Husain refers to the glorious era of Persian in the subcontinent, during which valuable books, records, and documents were produced. He said:

“It is a pity that the current generations have kept themselves away from the vast treasure troves of Persian literature preserved in various libraries and archives in Bengal.”

Related posts:

1. 1. Persian Language Summer and Winter Courses offered by the ASPIRANTUM Language School

1. 1. Persian Connections to India’s Samosa

1. 1. Persian in Use: An Elementary Textbook of Language and Culture

1. 1. Persian poet’s 700-year-old Manuscript discovered with signature by Mughal king Shah Jahan

1. 1. Documentary: Entire History of the Persian Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BCE)

1. 1. A Survey and History of the Persian Population of the Caucasus

1. 1. The 1,500-Year-Old Love Story Between a Persian Prince and a Korean Princess that Could Rewrite History

1. 1. Marco Polo and the Persian Gulf

1. 1. Spanish Military History Journal Interview with Kaveh Farrokh

1. 1. Journal Article on Western Persephobia

By Dr. Kaveh Farrokh|February 28th, 2024|Culture, Education, Eurocentricism, Heritage, Iran and India, Language & Linguistics, Linguistics, Literature, Persianate|Comments Off

Global Tourism Resilience Day

February 17

Resilient tourism

For many developing countries, including the least developed countries, small island developing states, countries in Africa and middle-income countries, tourism is a major source of income, foreign currency earnings, tax revenue and employment. Because tourism connects people with nature, sustainable tourism has the unique ability to spur environmental responsibility and conservation.

Sustainable tourism, including ecotourism, is a cross-cutting activity that can contribute to the three dimensions of sustainable development and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by fostering economic growth, alleviating poverty, creating full and productive employment and decent work for all.

It can also play a role in accelerating the change to more sustainable consumption and production patterns and promoting the sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources, promoting local culture, improving the quality of life and the economic empowerment of women and young people, indigenous peoples and local communities and promoting rural development and better living conditions for rural populations, including small-holder and family farmers.

The use of sustainable and resilient tourism as a tool to foster sustained and inclusive economic growth, social development and financial inclusion, enables the formalization of the informal sector, the promotion of domestic resource mobilization and environmental protection and the eradication of poverty and hunger, including the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and natural resources and the promotion of investment and entrepreneurship in sustainable tourism.

Global Tourism Resilience Day (17 February), proclaimed by the General Assembly in resolution A/RES/77/269, aims to emphasize the need to foster resilient tourism development to deal with shocks, taking into account the vulnerability of the tourism sector to emergencies. It is also a call for action for Member States to develop national strategies for rehabilitation after disruptions, including through private-public cooperation and the diversification of activities and products.

A group of researchers and experts at the University of Mazandaran in Iran assessed the situation of the Caspian Sea and the Hyrcanian forests as “critical” and “threatened.” Citing research, they predicted that with currents trends in the Caspian Sea, the water level of the lake will decrease by approximately eight to 18 meters by the end of the 21^st century, and that large parts of it will dry up. The Hyrcanian forests, which cover approximately 48% of the area of the Mazandaran province, are severely threatened.

The Caspian Sea is described as the world’s largest lake, usually called a full-fledged sea. The Hyrcanian forests, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, spread close to the coast of the Caspian Sea in Iran and Azerbaijan. The forests are comprised of an area of lush lowland, with mountainous forests covering approximately 55,000 square kilometers.

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