Film: Jodaiye Nader az Simin

Director & writer: Asghar Farhadi

Rating: 4.5/5

Iran has churned out bold and compelling cinema in the past few decades. Iranian cinema is the perfect opportunity to explore the supposed authoritarian facade that Iran erects. From films like ‘Colour of Paradise’, ‘A moment of innocence’ and to ‘A Separation’, filmmakers have constantly excelled at portraying every single element that comprises everyday Iranian life.

‘Jodaeiye Nader az Simin’ aka ‘A Separation’ is a tale of two families hailing from different socio-economic classes in modern Tehran. Nader (Peyman Moadi) and Simin (Leila Hatami) represent an average middle class Iranian couple. They have a teenage daughter- Termeh and Nader’s ailing father staying with them. From the beginning of the film, the audience are exposed to the troubled  relationship that Nader and Simin are in.

Enters the other protagonist – Razieh, a god fearing woman, who is a house keeper, and barely manages to get by. She has a young daughter, and an aggressive husband – Hodjat, who is responsible for most of Razieh’s troubles.

What follows is an intricately woven story of two families that crash into each other, and in the process highlighting the political, social, economical aspects of Iranian society. Nader and Simin who are already going through domestic hell, end up in a brawl with Razieh and Hodjat, which could potentially put Nader behind bars.

‘A Separation’ does not directly approach suppression of freedom of speech and expression that most of the world expects to see, but instead narrates an incident that skilfully points out human emotions caught up in a difficult situation. The cultural context of the story is significant and characterises its uniqueness.

While Nader (Moadi) has deep family values, his ego often gets the better of him. Moadi delivers a powerful performance. His face off with Razieh, in particular is an evidence of his involvement in Nader’s character. Simin on the other hand is strong headed, and wants to leave Iran. She expects Nader and Termeh to accompany her, but Nader refuses, creating further blows in their fragile marriage. Leila Hatami playing Simin puts in her hundred percent to portray the plight of almost single mother, who is repeatedly forced to be patient and calm in order to get her family out of tough circumstance.

Razieh and her husband Hodjat are coping with economic crisis. Hodjat is in deep debt, and cannot walk in public without being confronted by debt collectors.

Director and writer Asghar Farhadi flawlessly creates though provoking, engaging and moving cinema. His story telling crosses cultural frontiers and manages to connect with audiences world wide.

I cannot give further details about the plot, as it may spoil your enthusiasm and curiosity to watch this wonderful piece of cinema. It is a must watch, and I hope it can win the Academy for the Best Foreign Film.

Vegetarianism – is it for me or not?

Having been vegetarian all my life, I can say it’s not too hard, but then again most people are not like me (I am not the cringing types when others eat meat with me).

Food is passion, love and habit for many and I respect that. People have been eating meat and fish all their life. It’s a part of their culture, and it’s something they love. It’s not easy to give up something you love. I am a vegetarian and I don’t propagate it. If you want to try it out, go ahead. There are various reasons to give up meat. Many people are clueless about their diet when they veggie. I think it’s important to know what you can eat, and what your body needs when you give up certain kind of food. Some myths about going vegetarian I’d like to bust:

- Veggie food is beyond boiled vegetables and soup

- Being veggie does not involve being vegan

You can try out by slowly going down on your meat consumption, no need to go cold turkey, it may back fire and put you off the process.

Things you could consider:

- Find your reason – It’s important to know your reason. Just like any other task you undertake in life, the results are better if you have an objective. Your reason could be from health issues, animal rights, challenging yourself or even just trying something different. It does not matter what is it, as long as YOU know it. It helps to gain some perspective.

- Experimenting with different cuisines: Sometimes, you are so comfortable in your zone, that you don’t feel the need to experiment, which I completely understand. But it’s worth a try if you’re trying out something different. For example, you may get accustomed to the flavours in Thai food, and can discover some easy Tofu based recipes to supplement your diet. Indian food is a good option for vegetarians, lots of dishes involving lentils, pulses and vegetables.

- Cooking at home – If you’re even 10% the cook-at-home-types, it’s much easier to try vegetarianism. If you like a certain cuisine, you may want to replicate it at home. The best part is even though you follow a recipe, you have absolute liberties to alter the methods to your own taste. So if you’re not fond of hot chilles or ginger in Indian cuisine, you can make it mild and you’d probably like the end product more than the restaurant version

- Know your limits – If you can’t do it, don’t force it. It’s only worth your time if you like it. At any point you think it’s not for you, drop it, rather than hating it. If you miss your pork ribs beyond limits, eat it! I have tried eating meat, but couldn’t get it past my throat, hence I stopped.

- Take the advise but don’t follow it blindly - This is VERY important. You will meet similar people who have converted and will advise you, give tips and get you on the veggie board. Well that’s great, but do not follow others blindly, everyone has a different perspective, and adaptation times. Some things could work for you, others wouldn’t. I have met people with a militant vegetarian ideology, which I find concerning, come on it’s a free world, do what you like!

If you think it’s for you, then I’d love to hear your experiences or efforts! And I’ll post some recipes that are easy and quick for veggies soon.

Enjoy your greens.

]]> http://babblingnomad.com/2012/01/23/should-you-and-if-you-go-vegetarian/feed/ 0 I am http://babblingnomad.com/2012/01/12/melbourne-on-the-mat/ http://babblingnomad.com/2012/01/12/melbourne-on-the-mat/#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:59:36 +0000 Purple Ink http://babblingnomad.com/?p=286 ]]>

Melbourne on the dining mat!

Antiqued!

Purple n pink

Cups and saucers in the Melbourne suburban op shop

Also, I think I have finally understood the concept of power shopping, in fact what I achieved today was beyond power shopping. Twenty minutes and five items – 1 pair of vintage shoes, one vintage bag, two summer tops, one denim jacket and wait for it – one winter jacket. Now I know what most people will think, buying winter jackets in summer, but hey, if it’s vintage, then what the heck!

Walk review: 10/10

Time: 4.5 hours approximately

Essentials: Comfortable shoes, Water, Sunscreen, camera, snacks (sesame snaps recommended!) and a cap

Walk: The walk begins soon after you cross a sandy patch of beach at the reserve. The walk is well guided with directions, all the way from the Spit to Manly.

Highlights: The first stop was the Clontarf reserve, it was a gorgeous sunny day and the beach and grass was filled with families barbecuing.

Sails and yachts making their way near Clontarf reserve

Wildlife: The walk goes through the Sydney Harbour National Park, simply amazing to see abundant amount of wildlife less than 10 kms radius from the central district! We had a few guests popping up so say hi every now and then:

Lizzie showing up every now and then

Besides the reptiles, there was a large number of birds. I frequently heard an electronic bird call, almost like a ‘boingg’ from a videogame! I tried very hard to spot the bird in the trees, so that I could get a description, but it was very swift, leaving me bewildered with its rather strange call.

Another strange call – a constant ‘moohahahahaha’, thank god is was daytime, other wise I’d be quite freaked out, and run in the opposite direction! Thanks to this amazing site www.birdsinbackyard.net I could search for a bird based on its call! And this one was – Laughing Kookaburra, success!

The walk was long, but saw amazing sights like these:

The last part of the walk was easier, but seemed never ending! This view of the North and South head together is hands down worth the effort! It definitely looks better in real life.

Sunset at Manly was simply an icing on the cake!

Return journey was as simple as it could get – ferry to Circular Quay from Manly wharf. I have been to Manly before a few times, but never experienced it a more beautiful way. The word on the street is – a 9 hour walk from city through national parks, that ends at Linfield station – hmmmm c’est possible?

Now the ball is rolling in Durban as I write. The Kyoto protocol, which is the ONLY legally binding climate agreement expires at the end of 2012. What’s a Kyoto Protocol, read it here, but in short – a globally binding agreement signed in Kyoto at the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) by 191 states (excluding the U.S). It basically outlined the need to reduce carbon emissions leading to climate change.

If an agreement is not reached over renewal of Kyoto protocol or framing a new proposal, then one can only imagine the consequences. It’s not to say the Kyoto protocol reduced the greenhouse gases drastically, but it was a legal document binding 191 nations.

The argument over emissions cut between developed and developing countries is never ending. China and India are the leading in carbon emissions, with growing populations and urbanisation, it is unlikely to change. Copenhagen failed miserably because of disagreement between these two factions. Is it fair to demand carbon emission cuts by the developed countries when they have been the primary contributors to emissions for decades? Now that the developing countries are growing industrially, they require more energy, which means more emissions, and let’s face it, it’s never eco-friendly.

The developed and developing worlds cannot live in isolation, the world has been connected even before the advent of technology.