They say Books are the carriers of civilization.  Without books, history is silent, literature dump, science crippled and thought at a standstill.  Indeed, in books lie the soul and the articulate audible voice of the pas.  “Iran – Tracing Footprints Through Time” is an amazingly crisp, abundantly informative and awe inspiring travelogue penned by Natasha Viraf Deboo.  For the 19 years old author, it has bee a labour of love but for the reader, it is a work of art, both, in terms of content and aesthetic value.

For Zoroastrians, Iran is a spiritual motherland.  The author has captured within less than 90 pages the essence of her experience in this wonderful country during the year 2006.  she writes with the verve and breezy style of a teenager but tempered with profound depth, accuracy and maturity especially when dealing with facts of history and culture.

She virtually makes the landscapes and monuments of this beautiful country spring alive.  The author very ably breaths life into legends and history and with great felicity keeps the reader, whether young or old, enthralled and not wanting to put the book away till the very last page is tuned and read.

From the dizzying heights of the Albrouz Mountains and the shores of the Caspian Sea, the author meticulously glides readers across the salt deserts and makes every column of Persepolis speak of a culture that is seeped with richness that has not been eroded despite the vicissitudes of time.

Rightly does Justice Sam Variava who has also been to Iran with the SVG Group in the year 2007 state in his Foreword : “Natasha has very successfully managed to capture, and describe the warmth and beauty, not just of the countryside, but also of the people of Iran.  I feel that a visit to Iran is a must, but if one has not the time or cannot visit Iran, then one can get the flavor of Iran by reading Natasha’s book.  Her detailed descriptions of the places and the feelings they evoke is so vivid and accurate that it transports one back [of course only in memory] to those places, and through Natasha’s eyes one lives the memories”.

The Union Press has done remarkably well in print this book with quality art paper and matching 13 chapters with as many as 68 eye-catching coloured photographs which have mostly been shot by the author.  Doubtlessly, the book is both an intellectual as well as a visual feast.

Bertrand Russell once said, “There are two motives for reading a book; one, that you can boast about it”.  Natasha’s travelogue panders to both motives.

Prices at Subsidized Rs.150/-.  The book is available at :

e Union Press, Fort, Mumbai – Tel : 22660357

e Mr. Noshir H. Dadrawala, Mulla House, Flora Fountain, Mumbai – Tel: 22846534

e Kadmi-Shahenshahi (Komra) Agiyari, Pune.

e Mr. C. P. Mehta, Clover Centre, Pune – Tel: +919422035855

e Mr. Viraf B. Deboo, Clover Centre, Pune – Tel : (020) 26133018.

e Global Hotel, Udvada.