We should introduce children to the Iranian Culture

; her father (Gholamhossein Mofid) was a well-known actor in theatre and cinema, skillful in calligraphy, music, and reading the Shahnameh (Book of Kings), the Iranian epic of Ferdowsi. Hengameh attended the Conservatory of Music and then the College of Art while at the same time performing (1971-1978) in the professional theatre troupe of the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA, in Persian: Kanoon-e Parvaresh-e Fekri-e Koodakan va Nojavanan).

 

Since 1983, Hengameh Mofid has been a writer, director, actress, and voice artist in television puppet show series and movies, including Shaparak Khanom (The Butterfly), Torob, Kooti and Mooti, Khorshid Khanoom (Ms. Sun), An Event in Puppet Town, The Cloak with a Thousand Tales, Robots, Aria Da Capo, School, Eagle and Fox, Aleson and Valeson, Stories of Taghi Khan, and Rofouze.

 

 

AS your opinion ,what are the need to address ritual and traditional plays and holding a thematic festival for such plays?

 

- Before talking to you, I was reading one of the works of the late Ehsan Yarshater, which was written in a very eloquent manner. Now I have to say that the need to pay attention to ritual and traditional plays or to dedicate a festival to it goes back to our cultural taste. The number of people who work professionally in this field is very small, and unfortunately, with passing time, the number of these valuable people becomes less and less. These artists have spent their time and knowledge in this direction due to their interest in this type of shows and culture building. The fact is that they could have pursued more lucrative jobs, but they were committed to their science and knowledge in this field and did their best to be able to pass on these teachings to future generations so that the culture of traditional and ritual plays would not be forgotten. These are the people who insisted on their beliefs, and we should be grateful for their efforts.

 

 

In the recent edition, you were member of the selection committee of the buds(Javaneha) section. Tell us about the importance of teaching culture in childhood and adolescence.

 

If you read the works of the late Sattari, you will notice his emphasis on preserving the rich culture of Iran. I always say what will happen to the next generation if this culture is forgotten, what language they speak, or what culture will replace the original Iranian culture. for example; I have loved music since I was a child and I have always loved folk music, I studied at a music conservatory and I loved original Iranian music. This is the culture that has been given to me.

 

So what is the role of the education system and the parents in this case?

 

Children can imagine with fairy tales as long as their minds are the bedrock of daydreaming. So we can introduce them to Rustam and his his horse,Rakhsh when this mind has the ability to fly in the space of stories. Childhood is short, and as the child gets older, these dreams will definitely lose their meaning. So it is not too late to introduce them to this mythical world, the day they realizes that their fathers do not have the money to take the subway, the story is over. So we have to make a basic idea for children to read books.