Let us not forget Bam: Shajarian

“Let us not forget Bam,” Mohammadreza Shajarian said in the opening ceremony of calligraphy exhibition “Tuned with Bam” at Tehran’s Niavaran Cultural Center.

“We should not forget Bam. Not forgetting Bam is more important than reconstructing it. It is the duty of other forms of art to help make Bam again. When the earthquake happened we all said ‘we will make bam again’ but we all forgot the pain,” he continued.

Calligrapher Alireza Kadkhodaii donated 80 pieces of his calligraphy works to Shajarian last year the works are put on display for one week to raise money for construction of the Art Garden educational and entertainment complex in Bam.

Shajarian went on to say, “I have always praised the people of this land and I must admit that I am fascinated with the rich culture of our land. But I can not ignore this point that we forget things very soon. This bothers me a lot. I am attending these ceremonies to say we must not forget Bam and its people.

“People of Bam will finally make it one day. But this forgetfulness will find its ways into our lives and will gradually take the whole life. We first forget Bam, then each other, and then our close friends and relatives,” he remarked.

“This exhibit is held to the benefit of the people of Bam. Each step we take will help escape forgetfulness and revive our memories,” Shajarian added.

Veteran calligrapher Yadollah Kaboli, also participating in the ceremony appreciated the efforts by artists and said that Shajarian is not only a great singer, but the honor and prestige of Iran.

Shams Gallery curator Ali Jamshidi also made a short speech and said that all the works on display are based on the pieces of poetry Shajarian used over the past 50 years of his singing activities.

Jamshidi expressed hope that such activities would continue in the future.

According to Jamshidi, those who purchase the works will receive plagues of honor from Shajarian, and the whole collection will be published on a book with the names of the consumers and the price of each work.

In a project sponsored by Shajarian, the Art Garden in Bam is a three-story complex which will have a library, an amphitheater, a little garden, and several other sections and will cover an area of 7000 square meters. It has been estimated that the project will cost 25 billion rials.