Snapshots of Darband

I was pondering about my friends the other day and I realised that despite being English and living in England, only a few of my close friends are actually English. Now this is not to say that I dislike the English in any way, but rather it appears that my earlier lifestyle as a fully fledged globe trotter seems to be reflected in my multicultural group of friends. Perhaps my peculiar, somewhat Americanized English accent repels them, indeed I hope not. However, I am really grateful for my multicultural group of friends; it means I am constantly learning about other cultures and this never ceases to interest me. The other week I experienced a Chinese New Year festival and this week my Iranian friend Asieh took me to an Iranian cultural event called Darband. Asieh and I met about 15 years ago when I moved to Malaysia and our families have stayed in touch ever since. It was great to see her again and I am very happy that so many friends from my past still have a place in my life today. I really believe that the friendships you make over the years and the people with whom you develop close relationships, become a big component of who you are and how you see the world.


This event was a mixture of live music and the arts and it was a great opportunity for me to get rather camera happy! The lighting and atmosphere was crazy; multicoloured, flashing lights, red walls, you name it, it was there. It was a great challenge and I hope you like the photos. Before I get to them I thought I would tell you a bit about this event and what it represents. Thank you to Asieh for providing the info! Also thanks to Asieh for letting me sneak in a few photos of her, she looks stunning. You can see these towards the end of the post.


The event was taking place on Chaharrshanbe Suri; this is celebrated on the last Tuesday night of the Persian year. The Persian year starts on the first day of spring (21st March). This celebration dates back to 1700 BC and is a Zorastrian tradition. The name of the event is composed of two words; "Chaharrshanbe"meaning Wednesday and "Suri" meaning crimson. Crimson because for this occasion, people make fires (fire symbolizes light) and jump over them while saying "take my yellow (pallor, sickness) away and give me your crimson, which symbolizes health, life, and joy. This feast of fire is a prologue to spring and therefore, Nowruz (the Persian New Year). Asieh explained to me that Darband was simply a fun way to gather together Iranians in London to celebrate this occasion and we were really happy to go along with her. This is the first event I have covered and Asieh is kindly using some of my images in a report she is writing! I thought I would keep this as a somewhat shorter post as there are so many photos included.


You can click on the photos to enlarge them.


This is Radio Tehran, they were a huge hit on the night!

I loved this cellist; she was really great and had some wonderful expressions! I think I got carried away!

Check out the crazy red lighting!

You can see what a huge hit Radio Tehran were!

I love looking around at people and capturing their expressions. The atmosphere here was great.

The bassist in the band. I love the way the camera man looks hidden in the light.

A bit of still life!

I couldn't resist another one, she's so photogenic.

After Radio Tehran finished there were other live events. This guy was really into it!

I will end with this photo of Asieh, I love it! We took it on a London Underground platform, waiting for our train home.

I hope you enjoyed the photos, feel free to leave a comment. I am rushing to get this post up for my good friend Asieh so she can choose photos to include in her report, so I won't include my usual recipe. I promise there will be one with my next post!
xx