Start of 2023 Spring: Six Beautiful Twilight Photographs from Calgary

By MALIK MERCHANT

The Persian New Year or Navroz (Nowruz, Nawruz) starts at the moment winter ends and spring commences on March 21. In Iran, the festivities commence on March 17 and last for a total of 13 days with various traditions, activities and visitations to family members. In the Western Hemisphere, and especially in the USA and Canada, where there are estimated to be 1 million Iranians, it may not feel like Navroz on March 21 in many parts of the continent. However, Navroz regardless of the weather conditions outside, kindles an extraordinary spirit of unity and coming together of Iranian communities as well as people who originate from other countries in the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia where Navroz has been a very important traditional celebration for hundreds of years. Estimates of the number of people who celebrate Navroz around the world range from 300-325 million.

Calgary, Alberta, has been beautiful over the past week and daytime temperatures have been above freezing for the past few days. The sun has been strong with blue skies. Before sunrise on March 23, as I began seeing the twilight sky tuning red, I decided to drive west along Country Hills Blvd for around 20 few kms, made a right turn onto a gravel road and parked my car safely on a barren rocky strip outside a farmland. Here are my 6 best photographs from the morning. Once again NAVROZ MUBARAK, and enjoy the transformative spring season.

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Date posted: March 23, 2023.

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Malik Merchant is the founding publisher and editor of 3 independent on-line initiatives — Barakah (2017) and its two sister websites Simergphotos (2012) and Simerg (2009). An IT consultant for 40 years in the UK, USA and Canada, he now engages in small family related projects and is passionate about his websites. His interest in literature and community publications began in his childhood years through the work of his late parents Jehangir (d. May 2017, aged 89) and Malek Merchant (d. January 2021, also 89), who both devoted their lives to the service of the Ismaili community, its institutions and the Imam-of-the-Time, His Highness the Aga Khan, as missionaries and religious education teachers. In the UK, Malik edited the flagship Ismaili magazine, Ilm, with his father. The internet encouraged him to launch his first website, Simerg, in 2009. A resident of Ontario since 1983, he relocated to Alberta in January 2022. He has an animal loving daughter Dr. Nurin Merchant who practices as a vet. Malik can be contacted at mmerchant@barakah.com or mmerchant@simerg.com.

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