Life As I See It: NPR Plays Shajarian!!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

NPR Plays Shajarian!!

Some years back Saeed and I went to a concert in Raleigh of the famous Persian musician, Mohammed Reza Shajarian. It was very moving for me to see, in person, a musician of such high caliber. He was sick with a sore throat and fever the night of our concert but came on stage any way, his son (also a very good singer) taking over when his dad couldn't sing any more.

Imagine my surprise when I heard a piece about him yesterday on Morning Edition! Morning Edition is doing a year-long series on "50 Great Voices" across the world. As probably the most famous singer in Iran right now, Shajarian has taken a political stance to support the freedom and rights of the people in Iran. Since the voting debacle and violence of June 2009, he has forbidden the Iranian radio to play his songs in protest. I admire him so much. Here is the link to the NPR story.

Recently Shajarian was touring in Australia and gave a great interview (here, scroll down to the video) that I can't embed. I learned much more about his political views and was impressed with his answers regarding the status of women. Here is a shorter version that I could get off YouTube but I encourage you to watch the other one.

1 comment:

Tita said...: Love this mommy!! :) You are so amazing. Thanks for putting this up.; September 28, 2010 at 11:25 PM

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Quotes I Love

The least I can do is speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves. ~ Jane Goodall

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated ~ Mohandas K. Gandhi

Until we extend the circle of our compassion to all living things, we will ourselves not find peace. ~ Albert Schweitzer

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart. ~ St. Francis of Assisi

My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet. ~ Albert Einstein

The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man. ~ Charles Darwin

The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit. ~ Nelson Henderson

The time will come when men such as I will look on the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men. ~ Leonardo DaVinci

It's a matter of taking the side of the weak against the strong, something the best people have always done. ~ Harriet Beecher Stowe

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtfully committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. ~ Margaret Mead

The highest realms of thought are impossible to reach without first attaining an understanding of compassion. ~ Socrates

To care for anyone else enough to make their problems one's own, is ever the beginning of one's real ethical development. ~ Felix Adler

Every circus ticket sold admits one to a lifetime of torture and abuse. ~ Unknown

When it comes to the last hour of your life, it will be a great consolation to feel that you always protected the poor, the helpless, and the unfortunate; and that you exercised a particular care towards animals. ~ Caroline Earle White

You may say that I'm a dreamer but I'm not the only one. ~ John Lennon

Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize that we can't eat money. ~ Cree proverb

The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men. ~ Alice Walker

Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains unawakened. ~ Anatole France

To be a vegetarian is to disagree - to disagree with the course of things today... starvation, cruelty - we must make a statement against these things. ~ Isaac Bashevis Singer

Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages. ~ Thomas Edison

The truth is the truth. Don't be mad at me for saying it.
~ said by Richard Cypher, character in The Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind

Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder. ~ Rumi