A friend of Natasha’s, my first-cousin-once-removed, happened across a clip from a BBC video filmed in 1953 in downtown Tehran. I don’t know Natasha’s friend’s name, but let’s say it’s Amina.

Not long ago, Amina wrote to Natasha, “look at what Tehran used to be like, so many years ago.” Amina, Natasha, her parents, my father and grandparents were living in Tehran in the mid-twentieth century. Amina was engaging in a bit of nostalgia.

Natasha clicked on the video Amina had sent. And there, at the 27-second mark, was someone she recognized.

She forwarded the video to me. “Do you recognize the woman at the 27-second mark?” she asked.

“Is that Babi?” I wrote back. Then, as I watched again, “That’s Babi!”

Her aunt. My grandmother who I’d lost all these years ago, years after I’d lost my poor father who’d gone first (see Missing Dad).

In the video, Babi looks purposeful yet elegant in her coat, dark glasses and purse clutched under one elbow.

It’s the only footage I have of her. My father would have been a teenager at the time. I wished he had been with her. I don’t have any clips of him.

But I’m thankful to Amina and Natasha and the BBC for this miracle. My Babi, snatched back into the realm of the living, if even for a few short seconds. Who knows what else may someday come to light?

****

NOTE: The background song that plays during the BBC video is Yeki Ye Poole Khoroos. According to the internet: The song “Yeki Ye Poole Khoroos” (یكی یه پولِ خروس) is a traditional Persian children’s song and nursery rhyme. The title literally translates to “One, a Rooster’s Coin,” but the phrase is idiomatic and is often used in storytelling similar to “Once upon a time.”

The lyrics typically revolve around whimsical stories and characters, often featuring animals and humorous situations. These types of songs are meant to be entertaining and educational, introducing children to cultural themes, language, and rhythm.