Jotsna Jari

Abbas Kiarostami : Great Director ⬆️

“THE EMPEROR & I” : ABBAS KIAROSTAMI MEETS AKIRA KUROSAWA, 1993

🌹Abbas Kiarostami :-

(born June 22, 1940, Tehrān, Iran — died July 4, 2016, Paris, France).

He was Iranian filmmaker who was known for experimenting with the boundaries between reality and fiction throughout a four-decade career.

“My films have been progressing towards a certain kind of minimalism, even though it was never intended. Elements which can be eliminated have been eliminated.”

“I don’t have very complete scripts for my films. I have a general outline and a character in my mind, and I make no notes until I find the character who’s in my mind in reality. When I find the character, I try to spend time with them and get to know them very well. Therefore my notes are not from the character that I had in my mind before, but are instead based on the people I’ve met in real life. It’s a long process, it may take six months. I only make notes, I don’t write dialogs in full. And the notes are very much based on my knowledge of that person. Therefore when we start shooting I don’t have rehearsals with them at all. So, rather than pulling them towards myself, I travel closer to them; it’s very much closer to the real person than anything I try to create. So I give them something but I also take from them.”

💚 Notable Works :

* Where is the Friend’s Home?

* Close-Up

* Through the Olive Trees

* Taste of Cherry

* The Wind will Carry Us

“Good cinema is what we can believe and bad cinema is what we can’t believe. What you see and believe in is very much what I’m interested in.”

Trivia :

* Received the UNESCO Fellini-Medal in Gold for his achievements in film, freedom, peace & tolerance.

* In 2004 he received the Japan Art Association’s Praemium Imperiale prize for theatre/film.

Trademark :

Shoots his films mostly with non-actors and without any script

Awards :

41 wins & 41 nominations.

“Cinema seats make people lazy. They expect to be given all the information. But for me, question marks are the punctuation of life.”

💙 Abbas Kiarostami, the multi-award-winning Iranian director whose 1997 film Taste of Cherry was awarded the Palme d’Or at the Cannes film festival, has global reputation :

* Peter Bradshaw – Abbas Kiarostami is a highly sophisticated, self- possessed master of cinematic poetry.

* Asghar Farhadi (Oscar-winning Iranian film-maker) :-

“He definitely paved ways for others and influenced a great deal of people. It’s not just the world of cinema that has lost a great man; the whole world has lost someone really great.”

* Mohsen Makhmalbaf :- “Kiarostami gave the Iranian cinema the international credibility that it has today. But his films were unfortunately not seen as much in Iran. He changed the world’s cinema; he freshened it and humanised it in contrast with Hollywood’s rough version.”

* In 2003, The Guardian ranked him the sixth best working director.

* Akira Kurosawa have often been quoted saying, “When Satyajit Ray passed on, I was very depressed. But after seeing Kiarostami’s films, I thanked God for giving us just the right person to take his place.”

❤️

💚 writer : jotsna jari

It Starts With Us Paperback – 18 October 2022

Peter Paul Rubens ⬆️

writer : jotsna jari

“Painting a young maiden is similar to cavorting with great abandon. It is the finest refreshment.” – Peter Paul Rubens

💚 Peter Paul Rubens 🔼

(Dutch: 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640)

He was a Flemish artist and diplomat.

He is considered the most influential artist of Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens’s highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of classical and Christian history.

His unique and immensely popular Baroque style emphasized movement, colour, and sensuality, which followed the immediate, dramatic artistic style promoted in the Counter-Reformation.

Rubens was a painter producing altarpieces, portraits, landscapes, and history paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects. He was also a prolific designer of cartoons for the Flemish tapestry workshops and of Frontispieces for the publishers in Antwerp.

The garden of Rubenshuis in Antwerp designed by Rubens

Alongside Raphael, Rubens was pivotal in establishing the concept of a thriving artist’s studio into the art lexicon. His large studio in Antwerp was a production hub for paintings popular with nobility and art collectors throughout Europe. His bustling workshop employed many artists and apprentices who would help accomplish a large and prolific volume of work.

Self-Portrait with Isabella Brandt, his first wife, in the Honeysuckle Bower

About thirty-two years old, the artist presented himself dressed in chivalric elegance while Isabella, age eighteen, wears a luxurious, richly embroidered dress of heavy wine-colored taffeta silk, an enormous ruff, and a high-crowned hat.

They pose here as a respected couple in Flemish middle-class life, perhaps in their inner open air courtyard where Isabella planted gardens of flowers, herbs and vegetables.

Rubens designed the stone benches, brought in Classical busts on pedestals, Doric and Corinthian columns, statues, and small fountains.

They are sitting in the shade, hand-in-hand, as they lean toward each other but gaze politely toward the viewer. They are surrounded by symbols of love and marriage: the honeysuckle bushes and garden are both traditional symbols of love while the holding of right hands represents union through marriage. The gentle, conservative and loving approach to the painting reflects the intimacy of the occasion.

Rubens’ biographer Kristen Lohse Belkin called this piece “…one of his most delightful pictures…” She also noted that this painting is much larger, almost 5 feet by 4.5 feet, than previous portrayals of married couples with the figures shown in half-length poses.

The 19th-century French Romantic

painter Eugene Delacroix wrote that Rubens “carries one beyond the limit scarcely attained by the most eminent painters; he dominates one, he overpowers one, with all his liberty and boldness.”

The Massacre of the Innocents, between 1609 and 1611

Artist- Peter Paul Rubens

Year- 1610

Medium- Oil on canvas

Movement- Flemish Baroque

Subject- Massacre of the Innocents

Dimensions- 142 cm × 183 cm × 1.9 cm (56 in × 72 in × 0.75 in)

Weight- 93.9 kilograms (207 lb)

LocationArt Gallery of Ontario, TorontoAccession2014/1581

Art Market :-

At a Sotheby’s auction on 10 July 2002, Rubens’s painting Massacre of the Innocents, rediscovered not long before, sold for £49.5 million (US$76.2 million) to Lord Thomson.

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Safari HiTech 35 Ltrs Water Resistant Backpack – Black, L (HITECH19CBBLK)

Poem : Khoka’s suffering ⬆️

Poet : Jotsna Jari

For endless laughter

how many tunes are played on the flute

Everyone is enthusiastic about picnic

in the winter season.

Oh… cars are running

so much happiness is spreading all

around.

I will go… When will I move

I don’t know yet

I think to myself…

Will I ever be able to go.

How much is the hometask

how much the tuition is there

I just move constantly…

with time.

[ N. B-

In Bengal, the popular nickname of little son is Khoka (or Khokon) and the popular nickname of little daughter is Khuki. ]

💜

Стихотворение : Боль Хоки ⬆️

Поэт : Йотсна Яри

Для бесконечного смеха

сколько мелодий играет на флейте

Все в восторге от пикника

в зимний сезон.

О… Машины едут

так много счастья распространяется на всех

около.

Я пойду… Когда я перееду

я еще не знаю

Я думаю про себя…

Смогу ли я когда-нибудь пойти.

Сколько стоит домашнее задание

сколько стоит обучение

Я просто постоянно двигаюсь…

с течением времени.

[ Н. Б-

В Бенгалии популярное прозвище маленького сына — Кхока (или Хокон), а популярное прозвище маленькой дочери — Кхуки. ]

❤️

कविता : खोका का दर्द ⬆️

कवि : जोत्सना जरी

अंतहीन हँसी के लिए

बांसुरी पर कितनी धुनें बजाई जाती हैं

पिकनिक को लेकर सभी में उत्साह है

सर्दी के मौसम में।

ओह… गाड़ियाँ चल रही हैं

इतनी खुशियाँ सब फैला रही हैं

चारों ओर।

मैं जाऊँगा… मैं कब चलूँगा

मैं अभी तक नहीं जानता

मैं मन ही मन सोचता हूँ…

क्या मैं कभी जा पाऊंगा।

होमटास्क कितना है

वहां की ट्यूशन कितनी है

मैं बस लगातार चलता रहता हूँ…

समय के साथ।

[एन बी-

बंगाल में, छोटे बेटे का लोकप्रिय उपनाम खोका (या खोकोन) है और छोटी बेटी का लोकप्रिय उपनाम खुकी है। ]

🔼

কবিতা : খোকার কষ্ট ⬆️

কবি : জ্যোৎস্না জরি

খিল খিল হাসিতে

সুর বাজে বাঁশিতে

শীত শীত মরশুম

পিকনিকে বড় ধূম ।

গাড়িগুলো ছুটছে

কত সুখ ফুটছে ।

আমি যাব কবে যাব

জানি না তো এখনো

মনে ভাবি যেতে আমি

পাবো কি গো কখনো ।

কত থাকে হোমটাস্ক

কত থাকে টিউশন

সময়ের সাথে আমি

ঘুরি শুধু বনবন ।

💛

نظم: کھوکا کا درد

شاعرہ: جوتسنا جری

لامتناہی ہنسی کے لیے

کتنی ہی دھنیں بجتی ہیں بانسری پر

ہر کوئی پکنک کے لیے پرجوش ہے۔

سردیوں کے موسم میں.

اوہ… کاریں چل رہی ہیں۔

بہت ساری خوشیاں پھیل رہی ہیں۔

ارد گرد

میں جاؤں گا… میں کب چلوں گا۔

میں ابھی تک نہیں جانتا

میں خود سوچتا ہوں…

کیا میں کبھی جا سکوں گا؟

ہوم ٹاسک کتنا ہے۔

ٹیوشن کتنی ہے

میں صرف مسلسل حرکت کرتا ہوں…

وقت کے ساتھ.

[این بی-

بنگال میں چھوٹے بیٹے کا مشہور عرفی نام کھوکا (یا کھوکن) ہے اور چھوٹی بیٹی کا مشہور عرفی نام کھوکی ہے۔ ]

💟

Rene ‘Descartes : Founder of Modern Philosophy ⬆️

writer : jotsna jari

I think, therefore I am. – Rene ‘Descartes.

💚 Rene ‘Descartes –

(31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650)

He was a great French philosopher,

mathematician, scientist and who

invented analytic geometry, linking the

previously separate fields of geometry

and algebra. He spent a large portion of his working life in the Dutch Republic,

He was one of the most notable intellectual figures of the Dutch Golden Age. Descartes is also widely regarded as one of the founders of modern philosophy.

Science –

He discovered analytical geometry (1619).

He also developed a universal method of deductive reasoning based on mathematics, which applies to all sciences.

In Dioptrix he discovered the law of refraction. In meteorology he has explained the rainbow nicely.

Views –

He is the founder of modern philosophy.

He formulated the first modern version of mind-body dualism. This method, which he later applied to the Discourse on Method (1637) and formulated the rules of the direction of the mind (written in 1628 but published in 1701).

For the time and use of truth-seeking

He also provided moral code.

Innate Knowledge –

He argued this theory that all humans were born with knowledge through the higher power of God.

In psychology he is most known for his Concept of Dualism.

🔺References:

* The Philosopher- Princeton University

Press

* The French Reception of Descartes-

Cambridge University Press

* The Correspondence Theory of Truth-

Stanford Encyclopedia of Phylosophy

* Descartes- Collins English Dictionary

* Rene ‘Descartes, Biography-

Maths History 2020

Novelist : Mahmoud Dowlatabadi ⬆️

review : jotsna jari

Kelidar : Encyclopædia Iranica praises its “heroic, lyrical, and sensual” language.

❤️ An Iranian Storyteller’s Personal Revolution 🔼

After being arrested in 1974 by the Savak, the shah’s secret police, the Iranian writer Mahmoud Dowlatabadi asked his interrogators just what crime he had committed. “None,” he recalled them responding, “but everyone we arrest seems to have copies of your novels, so that makes you provocative to revolutionaries.”
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Mahmoud Dowlatabadi (Persian : محمود دولت‌آبادی‎, Mahmud Dowlatâbâdi) :-

(born 1 August 1940 in Dowlatabad, Sabzevar) is an Iranian writer and actor, known for his promotion of social and artistic freedom in contemporary Iran and his realist depictions of rural life, drawn from personal experience. In 2020, he wrote and recited a work called Soldier (Half-Burned boots) for the Art of Peace global project, composed and arranged by Mehran Alirezaei. He has collaborated with this project.

Mahmoud Dowlatabadi

💜 Missing Soluch (Persian : جای خالی سلوچ‎ Ja-ye Khali-ye Soluch; 1979) is a novel by Iranian author Mahmoud Dowlatabadi.

First Edition

Dowlatabadi wrote it in just 70 days, after he was released from prison, having composed it in memory while in jail. It was the first novel of the author written in the everyday language of the people, Persian and was hugely influential at the time of Revolutionary Iran for its sympathetic depiction of the proletariat, which was new in modern Iranian literature. It was Dowlatabad’s first novel to be translated into English (2007).

In Missing Soluch, an impoverished woman raises her children in an isolated village after the unexplained disappearance of her husband, Soluch. Though the idea for the novel first came to Dowlatabadi in prison, its origins trace back to his childhood. “My mother used to talk about a woman in the village whose husband had disappeared and had left her alone. She was left to raise several children on her own. Since she didn’t want the village to pity her, she would take a bit of lamb’s fat and melt it and then toss a handful of dry grass or something into the pan and put this in the oven, so that with the smoke that would come out of the oven the neighbors might think that she was cooking a meat stew for her children that night,” he told an interviewer. Missing Soluch was his first work translated into English.

🤎 Influence :-

Dowlatabadi is celebrated as one of the most important writers in contemporary Iran, particularly for his use of language. He elevates rural speech, drawing on the rich, lyrical tradition of Persian poetry.

He has also garnered praise internationally, with Kirkus Reviews calling The Colonel, “A demanding and richly composed book by a novelist who stands apart.” The Independent described the novel as “passionate,” and emphasized, “It’s about time that everyone even remotely interested in Iran read this novel.”

💛 The Colonel :-

The Colonel is a novel about nation, history, and family, beginning on a rainy night when two policemen summon the Colonel to collect the tortured body of his daughter, a victim of the Islamic Revolution. Dowlatabadi wrote the novel in the 1980s, when intellectuals were in danger of execution. “I hid it in a drawer when I finished it,” he said. Though it is published abroad in English, the novel is not available in Iran, in Persian. “I did not even want to have this on their radar,” he said. “Either they would take me to prison or prevent me from working. They would have their ways.” The novel was first published in Germany, later in the UK and United States.

💙

Igor Stravinsky : Great Composer ⬆️

writer : jotsna jari

Famous photograph of Stravinsky on grand piano by Arnold Newman

💚 Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky :-

(17 June 1882 – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century, and a pivotal figure in modernist music.

Stravinsky’s compositional career was notable for its stylistic diversity. He first achieved international fame with three ballets… first performed in Paris by Diaghilev’s Ballet’s Russes : The Firebird (1910), Petrushka(1911), and The Right of Spring (1913).

The Rite of Spring is among the most controversial ballets ever written, causing spectators to call out during its first showing in Paris. Today, the ballet still blurs the line between classical ballet and modern dance, thanks to both the music of composer Igor Stravinsky and the choreography of Vaslav Nijinsky.

Here Stravinsky pushed the boundaries of musical design. This is the revolution of music.

Group of supporters and members of

the Ballets Russesin 1911

Igor Stravinsky’s period of productivity lasted for an exceptionally long time, extending over some 60 years. A prolific composer, as well as a true original, he was an active participant in the various currents that crossed his time. Stravinsky was undoubtedly one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, imposing by his stature, his adaptability and his astonishing creativity.

Russian period (c. 1907–1919) :- Aside from a very few surviving earlier works, Stravinsky’s Russian period, sometimes called primitive period, began with compositions undertaken under the tutelage of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, with whom he studied from 1905 until Rimsky’s death in 1908, including the orchestral works Symphony in E♭ major (1907), Faun and Shepherdess (for mezzo-soprano and orchestra; 1907), Scherzo fantastique (1908), and Feu d’artifice (1908/9). These works clearly reveal the influence of Rimsky-Korsakov.

Stravinsky and Rimsky-Korsakov (seated together on the left) Progress.

Neoclassical period (c. 1920–1954)

* Apollon musagete (1928)

* Persephone (1933)

*Orpheus (1947)

This exemplify not only Stravinsky’s return to the music of the Classical period but also his exploration of themes from the ancient Classical world, such as Greek mythology. Important works in this period include the Octet (1923), the Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments (1924), the Serenade in A(1925), and Symphony of Psalms(1930).

In 1951, he completed his last neoclassical work, the opera The Rake’s Progress.

Serial period (1954–1968):-

In the 1950s, Stravinsky began using serial compositional techniques such as dodecaphony, the twelve-tone technique originally devised by Schoenberg. He first experimented with non-twelve-tone serial techniques in small-scale vocal and chamber works such as the Cantata (1952), the Septet(1953) and Three Songs from Shakespeare (1953). The first of his compositions fully based on such techniques was In Memoriam Dylan Thomas (1954). Agon(1954–57) was the first of his works to include a twelve-tone series and Canticum Sacrum (1955) was the first piece to contain a movement entirely based on a tone row.

Innovation and influence :-

Stravinsky has been called “one of music’s truly epochal innovators”. The most important aspect of Stravinsky’s work, aside from his technical innovations (including in rhythm and harmony), is the “changing face” of his compositional style while always “retaining a distinctive, essential identity”.

Stravinsky and Pablo Picasso collaborated on Pulcinella in 1920. Picasso took the opportunity to make several sketches of the composer.

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