Monar Jomban (part 1 of 4)

Thanks for this Manali!

It is one of my biggest ambitions to go to Iran and especially Isfahan --or as they pronounce it
--Esfahan.

``Esfahan nesf e jehan ast``
``Isfahan is half the world!``

(I suppose the Pakistani equivalent would be, ``Lahore, Lahore eh`` and the Indian one, perhaps,
Hanooz Dilli door ast!)

Esfahan and Ispahan- What is the difference? Any one!
Kamath

FRIDAY 19:58Hrs Atlantic time

none. ispahan is the older version.

Thanks for reminding me of Isfahan I saw thirty two years ago as an eighteen year old. I had climbed up the Minaar e jomban and an Iranian classfellow who had also climbed in into the narrow space at the top started shaking the minaret, giving me the fright of my lifetime, since the minaret, which is not very large, started to shake violently, as if it would topple over any moment. It is said that the two minarets are so identically constructed that they have the same frequency of vibration. When one vibrates, the other also resonates with it. It is saddening to find out that people in Iran are still feeling paranoid, just as in the heyday of Shah`s secret police Savak. twenty years of post revolution era, seem to have brought no respite.

Re: # 1
Believe me Lahore pales in comparison to Isfahan. May be it is due to the sikh rule. The old buildings in Isfahan stand magnificiently preserved. Just standing at the maidan-e-bozorg, or the main square is an unforgetable experience, with Ali qapu palace behind you, a mosque with shining lapis lazulli tles on your right, a similar tomb of a lady saint in the right corer, bazar-e-bozorg to your left, and shops of artists at work all around the square and in the bazar-e-bozorg. It is hundreds of years of history and culture in a capsule. Add to that a pretty and gutsy schoolgirl calling you ay Pisre-Pakitani, hichik dana pichik dana, and the exerience is etched in your mind forever.

This city has major steel works , russian built steel mills, same as PMS. Are they white elephants as its counterpart in Karachi which produce steel so costly than govt has to charge less money than cost. Some pakistani electric and mechanical engineers work there as they are famaliar with steel technology. Comparatively less population hels also than mega cities like karachi.

Beautiful narrative. Looking forward to the remaining instalments.

its a beautiful peice, after a long time,


a healthy divergence from the usual Paki/muslim/non-muslim bashings..


eagarly waiting for the next part.