24 Hours

That8217;s exactly what hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad8217;s shock victory over moderate cleric Hashemi Rafsanjani validated last week.

But that8217;s in the future, and I have to deal with a more immediate problem: Our luggage is delayed, and a couple of us go back into the airport with Iranian protocol officers to retrieve it.

We have to push our way through a mela, much like Delhi, with hundreds of people sporting bouquets for friends and relatives. A live band is playing in the waiting room, with the amplifier cranked up to ear-splitting levels. All I see is a sea of headscarves and stony faces, waiting.

Later, closer to midnight, as we wing our way down Chamran highway to our hotel, the sheer size of Tehran hits home. Block after block of apartments, large billboards, acrid air and zippy traffic, even at this late hour.

The sense of entering a different zone continues when we enter our hotel. The Parsian Esteghlal, which has seen better days, is the main hotel for foreigners. It has a large, packed lobby, and in the early evenings, a pianist sometimes livens up the chatter.

For now, it8217;s quieter. My room key warns that it8217;s not safe to keep valuables in locked bags in the room. Then, I8217;m told that, apart from credit cards, pre-1997 dollar notes are not accepted as payment in Tehran. With growing panic, I check my wallet8212;for some reason, all the dollar bills are of 1996 vintage. It8217;s a false alarm, I later discover, as there are plenty of currency changers who don8217;t care either way.

When I finally get to my room, the lighting is too dim and the safety latch doesn8217;t fit. I have a restless night.

But the next morning, everything looks rosy. I spend my first day in Tehran driving around the city with Hassan, our guide-cum-translator, who shuts off initial political questions with a smiling 8216;8216;I don8217;t think8217;8217;.

Later, he opens up, as do shopkeepers and co-passengers in Tehran8217;s efficient, if slightly over-heated metro, about the edgy face-off with the US over its dalliances with nuclear technology. After years of war and with an economy dominated by oil, gas and automobiles, the man-on-the-street definitely wants to move ahead. Apart from one instance, I did not sense any jingoism vis-a-vis the US, just a desire for 8216;8216;peace and work8217;8217;.

Young people are everywhere, not surprising as 60 per cent of the country8217;s population is below 20 years of age. Women do wear the ubiquitous scarf and cape, but it8217;s definitely a lot more fashionable8212;one commentator avows that every year women manage to take the cape up by another inch.

Then there8217;s a brief celebrity citing, ironically an American one, when we bump into Hollywood actor and 8216;fellow journalist8217; Sean Penn in Tehran8217;s bustling old bazaar. A cigarette and some chit-chat later, he tells me: 8216;8216;It8217;s Iran dangerous if you don8217;t get home. If you do, then it8217;s not.8217;8217;

Well, the real danger in Iran is banging into another car while being driven at 224 km per hour.

The old bazaar, which is at least 10 times maybe more the size of Delhi8217;s INA Market, is amazingly cool and well-ventilated, with lots of friendly faces and much more to see.

We head out for a delicious chicken skewer lunch though the absence of curry can get on one8217;s nerves.

In the late evening, after much carpet watching, Hassan drives us to the highest point in Tehran, where I am told I can see half the city flanked by mountains.

Under the setting sun, Tehran looks beautiful8212;and definitely worth revisiting. Not surprisingly, I have a much better night.