Iranian anchor Nashiba, author Rahmandust honored at storytelling festival

TEHRAN,March 12(MNA) -- The Storytelling Festival of Tehrani Mothers honored Maryam Nashiba, the radio anchor who has been telling bedtime stories for kids on the “Good Night Kids” program since 1990, and children’s author and poet Mostafa Rahmandust. The winners of the first edition of Tehran storytelling mothers’ festival were announced during a ceremony which was held at the Milad Tower on Saturday night. At the beginning of the ceremony, Nashiba called the festival a notable cultural activity organized by the Art and Cultural Organization of the Tehran Municipality. “The mothers should learn several stories and narrate them for their children since by reading books, they can transfer information to their kids,” she added. She also asked the Tehran Municipality to spread the culture of book reading among children and also to organize street children. Afterward, Mostafa Rahmandust made a short speech on the importance of book reading for children saying that storytelling nurtures the many talents of children. He expressed his thanks to the Art and Cultural Organization of Tehran Municipality for reviving the culture of storytelling within families. Bahram Shah-Mohammadlu is known as Mr. Hekayati, the popular storyteller in a TV series called “Under the Dark Blue Dome” from the 1980s, also spoke on the art of storytelling. Today’s children are very lonely in comparison to children of the past whose family relationships were better established. The children’s program actor Hossein Abhari blamed the aggressive behavior displayed by some children on the absence of story telling by their parents. “In the past, grand parents told stories to children which nourished their imaginations but today, unfortunately, many parents do not do that,” he said. At the end of the ceremony, Art and Cultural Organization of the Tehran Municipality Director Amir Khorakian honored the winners of this edition of festival. Nafiseh Torkaman, Maryam Baqaii, Tahereh Lakian, Masumeh Imani, Fatemeh Bahramian, Nasim Noruzian and Bahareh Safdari were among the winners of the event.