Fair and mild to close out the week

Last night at the No Ruz celebration in the Temple of Dendur installation of the Metropolitan Museum: Nazee Moinian, Maryam Ansari, Roya Shahabi, May Rachichaned, and Kh. Shahabi; Joe and Nazee Moinian.

Fair and mild and sometimes sunny yesterday in New York. And cold which got colder as day moved into night. And windy. The forsythia are in bloom in the parks. Riding across the 79th Street transverse, the delicate yellow blossoms are heaving sumptuously over the dark and gritty stone retaining walls on either side of the roadway. Everything is in place for some warmer temperatures. Last night I went over to the Met where Iranian (or Persian) members of the community, as well as friends and relations who traveled from Paris and London, were celebrating No Ruz which is the traditional Iranian New York holiday.   Donald and Barbara Tober No Ruz has been celebrated for thousands of years, the day also marking the Spring Equinox, in many countries including Afghanistan, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Albania, Bahrain, Armenia, Georgia as well as many countries of Central Asia such as Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, as well as Northwestern China, the Crimea, that Balkans. In the ancient days of the Persian empire it was also a day when the kings of different nations under the Persian empire used to bring gifts to the emperor, the Shahanshah. Former Empress of Iran Farah Diba, the widow of the last Shah Reza Pahlavi was expected to be a guest but for some reason she remained at home in Paris, which was a great disappointment to many of the guests last night. This was the second annual celebration and second with the dinner held in the Temple of Dendur, which is always an awesome space to enter, day or night. There were several hundred guests. Many of us remember 1979 and 1980 when many Iranians fled with the change of regimes and emigrated to America. Many émigrés settled in New York and Los Angeles. Having lived in both cities, I have seen that the New York Persians have integrated themselves into the community more actively than their peers and counterparts on the West Coast. This is because of the nature of New York life and its access to proximity. Whereas in Los Angeles, the Iranian population remains fairly insular, in New York it is impossible to be insular after a certain point. Pamela Gross and Mrs. Tahinia-Milani   The Iranian/Persians are also a prosperous group. The women tend to like to dress, to turn on the glitz and sheen often festooned with beautiful jewelry. Where last year’s No Ruz seemed almost exclusively Persian, this year there was a notable increase of non-Persian New Yorkers including Pamela Gross and Jimmy Finkelstein, Donald and Barbara Tober, Christopher Mason, Yolanda Garza, Julie Menin and Susan Fales-Hill to name only a few. The evening opened with welcoming remarks by Bijan Mossavar-Rhamani, a New York based businessman (oil and gas interests) and chairman of the Mondoil Corporation. His beautiful wife Sharmin, is a managing director of Goldman Sachs. Two years ago the Mossavar-Rahmanis donated $15 million to the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Kennedy School. Power in New York varies but there is a large circle of wealthy, active individuals who wield great influence (power) in many areas. One of those areas is cultural activity – the support of museums, schools, hospitals of all kinds. Through these organizations, the influential (read: wealthy) not only make connections with the rest of the community, but also get to do their share. Bijan Mossavar-Rhamani reflected this in his opening remarks. His message was simple: many guests were Iranian or of Iranian descent, and America and New York was now their home.   Dr. Dorothy Zinberg and Yolanda Garza The Iranian/Persian people, I have learned, contrary to the examples often presented to the public,  are warm and friendly. Those whom I know are now residents and/or citizens of this country. They are as appalled or outraged as much as anyone else by the work of the current regime. They know, however, that Iran is the most Americanized country in the Middle East, that its young people in many ways admire and are influenced by our country. Many of those attending last night No Ruz are making it their business to shed light on the kind nature of the Iranian people. This is not an easy message to convey at times like these. But Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani is one of those leaders spreading that message. He and his wife are highly regarded in their native community and also admired and well-connected in the overall community. The Met’s President Emily Rafferty greeted with the crowd, telling them a little about the museum’s longtime Persian collections. The menu was Persian: A first course of appetizers – Bread, Cheese and Herbs Roll (Nan-o Panir – o Sabzi) Stuffed Grape Leaves (Dolme-ye Barg-e Mo), Chicken and Potato Salad (Salad Olivier); Meat and Split Pea Patties (Shami-ye Goosht), followed by Braised Ribs with Sauce, Green Rice with Dill and Fava Beans (Baghali Polo ba Goosht); Sweet Rice with Chicken, Sour Cherries and Pistachios (Albalook Polo ba Morgh) and topped off with a dessert of a Trio of Persian Sorebet and Ice Cream, plus a selection of Persian Pastries. After the dessert, guests were treated to a laugh-or-a-smile-a-minute monologue by Iranian comedian Maz Jobrani. Mr. Jobrani grew up in San Francisco and is thoroughly American. But because of his strong roots and upbringing he is able to observe both sides of the spectrum with wit and zaniness and ultimately laughter, and the audience loved him.

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