I spent 12 days in Tehran, the capital city of Islamic Republic of Iran, to cover the Asian Football Confederation U-23 Championship Qualifiers as Nepal's youth team had also taken part in the tournament. Since it was my first visit to a foreign country with the Nepali national football team I was so excited that I had imagined a number of things about it. I even watched Iranian movies and tried to build an image on my own. Drawing pictures of people's attire, their attitude, their behaviors, and their foods in my mind was, perhaps, normal for me or it may be the same for many people who travel to any destination for the first time.
The most frequent question that struck my mind was whether I would be able to see the faces of burka-clad women of Iran. I was asked the same when I returned home. But things in Tehran were different than my imagination. Women were no longer in burka; rather in jeans, scarves, high heels, boots and modern dresses. They drove cars, worked in shopping malls, spent times in gardens and other public places with men, clicked pictures, worked as tourist guides, and openly talked about their likes and dislikes.
Besides being modern and well educated, Iranian women appeared friendly and treated all visitors in a special manner. A local female tourist guide, around 25, clad in jeans and scarf on her head, wearing a pair of boots, having smart phone in her hand, came to me and spent almost half an hour talking with me in the lobby of the hotel staying in. Within a short period of time she shared many things about her country and wished to visit Nepal in the near future with her boyfriend.
I was really shocked to hear the word 'boyfriend' from a girl in Iran because I used to think that the word must be a taboo in an Islamic country. More shocking things were to follow. She shook hands with me when she left the hotel lobby. I had never imagined that any women in Iran shook hands with a stranger.
Tehran is a beautiful city, developed like a Hollywood set, where roads and buildings are constructed in such a way that enchants visitors. Especially a Nepali will wish for such development back home.
Lots of illusions regarding Iran vanished when I experienced the real life in Tehran within few days. Tehranians were so friendly that I never felt alone. Whenever I sat alone in the lobby of the hotel or at some other places, people approached me and talked with me in such a decorous manner that I was bowled over by their civility. Even while walking on the roads people took pictures with me as if I were some celebrity. The most fascinating thing I felt was people's warmth for every individual and making them feel special.
Pleasant was my Iran visit but I am grateful to the country for dispelling my preoccupied notions. One must not be swayed away by the violent reports from the Islamic world. Muslims too are liberal and cordial people like us.
The author is with Republica's sports bureau sanjeevshah2010@hotmail.com
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