ESFANDARMAZ: The Most Beautiful Woman in the World: A Sufi Parable

ESFANDARMAZ: The Most Beautiful Woman in the World: A Sufi Parable

From the 13th century poet and mystic Farid-al Din Attar, author of the celebrated Manteq al Tair (The Conference of Birds) comes this story from his great Sufi epic, Elahi nameh (Book of the Divine). The frame story of the epic tells of a father who asks each of his six sons what they are seeking in life. In response to each son, the father tells a story which challenges them to understand the true nature of their ambitions. To his son who is seeking beauty, the father tells the story of Esfandarmaz; a story of justice, healing and redemption. Esfandarmaz is a woman whose provocative beauty and uncompromising integrity makes her the recurring victim of mankind. In terms of the time and place of its compositon, the story may astonish modern listeners as it can be taken at once as a protofeminist fable and a parable of the human search for the truth.

DATE: Saturday, March 27, 3:30 to 4:30 PM

LOCATION: " The 918", formerly the Toronto Buddhist Church, a centre supporting culture, arts, media and education.
918 Bathurst St. (Lower Level), just North of Bloor and Bathurst

AUDIENCE: Adult
ADMISSION: $5 adult/$4 students, seniors

For more information see the festival website at http://www.torontof estivalofstoryte lling.ca/ index.html

Telephone: (416) 656-2445