From the Oktoberfest to Tehran and back: A reading with Jasmin Tabatabai
On September 25th, an exited audience and us had the pleasure to welcome Jasmin Tabatabei for a reading from her latest book “Years of Roses – My Family between Persia and Germany”.
The evening in Cologne’s Stadtgarten was opened by mayoress, Angela Spizig, surprising the whole audience with a Persian greeting: “Schab be kheir!” (good evening!). Despite summerlike temperatures the venue was totally packed. Being a supporter of the DIWAN from the first day on, Spizig was obviously pleased about the positive reaction the society had earned in Cologne is such short matter of time.
She showed herself as an insider of the Iranian scene in Cologne even admitting to have heard about Persians that sometimes like to have a stew with a sheep’s head for breakfast.
“Years of Roses” is not just the story of Jasmin but also the love story of her parents: Her German mother, Rose, ran into her future Iranian husband on the Oktoberfest in Munich during the fifties, leaving Germany to live together in Tehran afterwards. From Rose’s telling, we found out that Iran was a country she occasionally wanted to visit one day. Being in Iran she acted resolutely and decided to get married and to stay there! With a big portion of Bavarian-Persian humor, the actress provided a very personal insight into a live that combines two different perspectives: A German-Iranian change of perspective on cultural characteristics, amusing family anecdotes, and historic correlations. Latest by the moment when she was making fun of the typically Persian way of pronouncing names and terms having a lot of consonants – making “Gregory Peck” to “Geregurypekk” – she won the hearts of the audience.
Tabatabai was interviewed by Golineh Atai and Ali Samadi Ahadi afterwards. “You are an actress, you sing and write. Are you also going to direct?” – “Oh, no way! I am totally happy leaving that part to you!” Committing herself to her ‘two homes’, we are pleased to welcome Jasmin Tabatabai as a new member of the DIWAN. We are looking forward to having her visit Cologne and the DIWAN soon again. Who does not want to wait that long: on October 25 she is going to give a Jazz concert in Düsseldorf.
Conclusion: We extended our time limit by one hour, but it was worth it! A truly successful evening that was musically framed by Pejman Keyvani playing the piano.
Picture Gallery
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The German-Iranian actress, Jasmin Tabatabai, reads from her book „Years of Roses – My family between Persia and Germany“. With impressive pictures and a good sense of humour, Jasmin Tabatabai talks about the fascination of her Iranian home country and of her family between two worlds.
At the age of barely twenty years, Jasmin’s mother Rosemarie decides to follow the love of her life to Iran. Suddenly she finds herself in a different world: in splendid mosques, simple village cottages and in Teheran’s bazaars. Nearly everywhere she encounters people with a lovable mixture of curiosity and cordiality – last but not least in the extended Tabatabai family. It all began at the Oktoberfest in 1956, where timid Rosemarie met Modjtaba, a Persian entrepreneur. Despite all resistances she follows him to his homeland – the beginning of a fascinating love story. In Teheran she gives birth to four children, among them her daughter Jasmin. Together the family experienced many happy years – until the Islamic revolution changed everything.
Jasmin Tabatabai, born in Teheran in 1967, is one of the most successful film and theatre actresses in Germany. She is also successful as a musician and lives in Berlin together with her family. The letters her German mother wrote to her grandmother from Iran inspired her to write “Years of Roses”.