TEHRAN, May 24--A handwritten manuscript of a section of the holy Qur’an attributed to Imam Reza (AS), the eighth Imam of Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) infallible household, is on display at an exhibition of artifacts from private collections.
Selected items from the museum maintaining manuscripts, decorative arts, seals, agate as well as jewelries belonging to Mohammad Sadeq Mahfouzi are also on display.
The museum’s director, Abolfazl Zabeh added that the exhibition features versions of the holy Qur’an penned by Yaqout Mostasami, Mohtasham Esfahani, Alaeddin Tabrizi, Masih Taleqani, Zein Al-Abedin Esfahani and dozens of other handwritten copies.
A section of the exhibit, which has been organized by Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization on the occasion of the World Museum Day, will continue until May 29 at Iran National Museum on Si-e Tir Street.
Versions of Shahnameh by the epic poet Abolqassem Ferdosi, Hafez Anthology, Sadi’s poetical works, Ibn Sina’s (Avicenna) Qanoon and some other books on astrology, medicine, exotic sciences and Nassereddin Shah’s calendar as well as tens of other manuscripts are added attractions.
Dozens of carved seals and rings from the 3rd-14th century and belonging to Umm-e Jafar, the mother of Mamoun--a caliph of the Abbasid dynasty--Mohammad Baqer Majlesi, Ali Ashraf, a famous painter from the Safavid and Afsharieh eras and Mohammad Taher Hakkak-Bashi are also on display.

TEHRAN, May 24--First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said that Festival of Art and Technology would strengthen ties between artists and technologists.
In a message to the First Festival of Art and Technology, he said that he expected the festival to adopt modern methods to use the opportunities in the field of nanotechnology, ISNA said.
“I appreciate the decision of technologists to hold the festival to forge links with artists and arrive at a common language and cooperation. I felicitate the two strata of people on such cooperation which would help the Islamic Republic attain its lofty goals.
“No doubt, the public enthusiasm for the Art and Technology Festival, particularly the sections pertaining to writing film scripts and producing animation, indicated that the Iranian community understands the importance of high technology and newly emerging technologies.“
He said that art and technology are inseparable part of human life and were important factors in promoting human community in the past.
“In many periods, art and technology have inspired each other. Progress in arts has been due to the advancement mankind has made in the field of technology and the enhancement of technology has been motivated by artists,“ Aref said.

Mahmoud Dolatabadi

TEHRAN, May 24--Noted Iranian storywriter Mahmoud Dolatabadi said he may write an introduction to Shahnameh, an epic by the great Iranian poet Abolqasem Ferdowsi, reported CHN.
Dolatabadi said that he has started writing annotations for the epic and has looked at Shahnameh from a perspective which has not been studied by anyone so far.
The writer further said that Shahnameh is a world famous work and it has not been written from a chauvinistic point of view.
“In my writing, I will seek to identify with Ferdowsi in all moments of his work,“ he said, adding that he will focus on the intellectual aspect of Shahnameh and the fact that he managed to transfer this characteristic to posterity.
When in jail, Dolatabadi intended to write the stories on ’Siyavash’, ’Esfandiar’ and ’Rostam and Sohrab’ in prose, but he did not manage to do so due to restrictions.
Dolatabadi is currently studying some aspects of classical literature, which are, according to him, similar to a novel and have been written in a distinct prose.

Hafez mausoleum in Shiraz, Fars province

TEHRAN, May 24--A conference on ’The Status of Ferdowsi’s Thoughts in Persian Poetry and Literature’ was held in Islamabad.
The Islamic Culture and Communications Organization said in a press release that 12 professors of Persian language presented papers at the event which included ’The influence of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh in the sub-continent’, ’Goddess of Epic and Wisdom’, ’Rostam and Sohrab’ among others.
Some 10 other academics recited Persian poetry and spoke about Ferdowsi.
The conference was sponsored by Research Studies Center of Iran and Pakistan and Association of Persian Literature of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Meanwhile, a one-day seminar on Persian poet ’Hafez’ was also held in Islamabad.
The organization said that several scholars from Iran, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Pakistan delivered papers about Hafez.
Professor Akbar Saqeb presented his paper about works and thoughts of Hafez in Urdu language.
Dr. Hossein Najjari, delivered a speech about Hafez and fortune telling in Hafez’s poetry, Allameh Sebtin Shirazi and Dr. Nematollah Iranzadeh, head of Persian Language Research Studies Center of Iran and Pakistan also addressed the seminar.

TEHRAN, May 24--The Fifth International Assembly of Persian Language Instructors will be held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan from June 29 to July 1.
According to ISNA, Ministry of Culture and the Islamic Guidance and the Secretariat for Development of Persian Language and Literature will sponsor the event.
About 30 to 35 scholars of Persian language from Iran will take part in the conference and Iranian cultural attachŽ will invite non-Iranian academics of Persian language to the event.
Essays which are delivered at the conference will be compiled in a book called ’Outcome of Fifth Assembly of Masters of Persian Language’.
The names of Iranian scholars taking part in the conference have not been released yet.
Short story writer, Mostafa Mastour, will deliver a paper on the successes and failures of Persian short stories in the past two decades.

Hits by the Beatles, seen here in 1968, failed to make a list of the top five songs of the past five decades chosen by BBC listeners. (AFP File Photo)

LONDON, May 24--Hits by the Beatles and their late star John Lennon failed to make a list of the top five songs of the past five decades chosen by BBC listeners.
In rating hits back to the 1950s, Radio 2 listeners chose ’Angels’ by Robbie Williams, ’West End Girls’ by the Pet Shop Boys, ’Bohemian Rhapsody’ by Queen, ’Space Oddity’ by David Bowie and ’You Really Got Me’ by the Kinks, AFP said.
“The listeners have voted and the Beatles are out,“ Radio 2 music editor Colin Martin said.
Radio 2 held its Songs Of The Decades vote to mark the 50th anniversary of the Ivor Novello Awards, which take place on Thursday.
Listeners chose from a shortlist of 25 songs selected by an expert panel of songwriters.
’Angels’ was voted the best song of the past 10 years (1995-2004).
’West End Girls’ was the top song of 1985-1994, ’Bohemian Rhapsody’ of 1975-1984, ’Space Oddity’ of 1965-1974 and ’You Really Got Me’ of 1955-1964.
The Kinks’ song beat two Beatles hits, ’She Loves You’ and ’Please Please Me’.
And ’Space Oddity’ was chosen ahead of the Beatles song ’Yesterday’.
’Bohemian Rhapsody’ won over John Lennon’s ’Imagine’.
“When we asked listeners to select their favorite song from five decades of great British hits we always thought the Beatles or John Lennon--who between them got the most nominations--would top at least one of the decades. How wrong we were,“ Martin said.
“Great songs like ’You Really Got Me’, ’Space Oddity’ and ’Bohemian Rhapsody’ are regarded as being not just on a par with Lennon and McCartney, but out in front in their contribution to and influence on British music,“ he added.

TEHRAN, May 24--Novelist Qassem Kashkouli has said that he will publish a simplified version of ancient manuscripts from the Safavid era which will include theories for writing stories.
He told ISNA that ’Taraz-ol Akhbar’, an old manuscript which is being maintained at one of reputable museums, has put forward theories and techniques of writing stories.
“I’ve obtained a slide of the manuscript which dates back to the Safavid era and I’m working on it to present it in a simplified language to prove that we had a theory about writing stories even before Don Quixote was written.“
Kashkouli said that the book was written in a language which is difficult for the new generation to understand. It consists of theories about writing stories, but, Iranian literature was dominated by poetry at that time, and prose style of writing was not popular among the people, he said.
“I was always looking for an ancient Persian book about the theory of writing stories. I thought we must have such a book since we inherited the novel ’One-Thousand and One Night’ and it was not possible to write such a masterpiece without having a theory about story writing.“
He predicted that the book would be published within the next six months.