Events

Please join the Pomegranate Restaurant for Shab-e Yalda

Wednesday December 21st, 2011 Story begins at 8 pm. sharp

For dinner reservations please call ahead 416-921-7557

Farid ad Din Attar (1145-1146 - c. 1221) is the foremost poet, philosopher and hagiographer in the Sufi tradition. He lived most of his life in Nishapur, the city of Omar Khayyam. Rumi, the great mystic and poet, considered Attar his spiritual mentor. "Attar had traveled through all the seven cities of love," Rumi once said "while I have only have remained in the first, wandering through its alleys."

Much of Attar's fame in both the East and West rests on his long narrative poems (masnavi) often referred to as Sufi epics. Among these, the most well-known is Manteq o Tayr or The Conference of the Birds. For centuries it has been the inspiration of countless poets and artists from Anatolia to South Asia. In the West, the Conference of the Birds has been translated numerous times, as well as being adapted into a play and an opera.  An allegory of the spiritual quest, Manteq o Tayr, is the story of the hoopoe bird who tries to persuade the other birds to join him on a journey to China, to the end of the world, to seek Simorgh, the King of the Birds in ancient Persian mythology.  This narrative as well as the numerous stories weaved within it; invite the listener on a challenging journey towards unanticipated paths of self-discovery. According to one tradition, a continued re- reading of Manteq o Tayr throughout a lifetime can prevent all kinds of physical and spiritual illness.

The telling is divided into two parts. The first part which will be told on Shab-e Yalda tells the story of how the hoopoe bird comes to the decision to undertake the journey and how he tries to persuade the other birds to join him. A series of conversations ensues between the hoopoe and in turn: the nightingale, the parrot, the peacock, the partridge, the falcon, the owl, and the sparrow. Each bird offers his excuse why he cannot undertake the journey. The hoopoe answers their excuses by telling a story to each, challenging their own assumptions which keep them from undertaking the journey.

A few notes, due to limited space.…

Groups of 2 may need to share a table for 4 with 2 others
We are unable to accommodate groups larger than 6
Minimum donation is $5.00 per person, all of which goes to the Naqal