The main office of the Iranian National Committee for ICOM (the International Council of Museums) has been relocated to the newly renovated house of poetess Parvin Etesami.

Etesami`s home is located in District ۱۲ of the capital city Tehran. The renovated home was inaugurated during a ceremony on Tuesday on the occasion of World Museum Day.

Parvin Etesami (۱۹۰۷-۴۰) was one of the most prominent Persian poets of the ۲۰th century. Her first anthology of poems was published in ۱۹۳۵. Her poetry is themed upon social, humanitarian and mystical concepts, and contains no allusions to romantic love or feminine sentiments.

She died from Typhoid fever in ۱۹۴۰ in Tehran and was buried near her father in Qom.

Several cultural officials attended the ceremony among whom were ICOM director Ahmad Mohit-Tabatabaii, former culture minister and Tehran City Councilor Ahmad Masjed-Jamei, and ICOM member and onetime director of the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization Mohammad Beheshti, as well as mayor of District ۱۲ Naser Karami.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mohit-Tabatabaii regarded the relocation of ICOM at the house of Parvin a good omen. `I hope the district will be able to return to its old days shining as a living museum across the capital,`he remarked.

Next, District ۱۲ mayor Karami gave some brief details about the house and said, `The structure consists of three separate parts of which one belongs to the municipality and the other two are privately owned.

`An elderly lady living in one of the parts said that Parvin’s wedding ceremony was held in this building,` he said.

He hoped that the municipality could purchase the other two parts and convert the entire building into a cultural center.

Masjed-Jamei next talked about the character of Parvin and said, `Parvin is a poetess of noble character, coming from a renowned family. The magnificent poetry the she composed is rooted in her good upbringing.` Parvin was brought up in a family that was well versed in literature, and her father, Mirza Yusef Etesami, played a major role in her development.

Beheshti further referred to the historical values of District ۱۲ and stated, “The key of Tehran’s historical treasures is in the hands of mayor Karami.”

“When we talk about cultural heritage, we believe that it is really the manifestation of culture in society that we mean. We are living in a society which is rapidly sinking into oblivion, and each individual thinks he is different from everyone else. What we must understand is that we all belong to a single nation, sharing a common identity, and we all have one fate.

This will help topple the barriers built between the individuals, and I appreciate mayor Karami for his efforts to enliven this shared identity.

“Tehran is a small version of Iran. One can see a variety of cultures and tribes in Tehran, and no other city has this kind of diversity,” He concluded.

The house of Parvin Etesami is located on Komeili Alley, Mostafa Khomeini St., in the Sarcheshmeh neighborhood.

Tehran Times