SAEDNEWS: From Ayatollah Khamenei’s vivid recollection of a gloomy classroom to comedian Mehran Modiri’s painful initiation via a playground punch, the back-to-school memories of Iran’s most famous figures offer a poignant, humorous, and nostalgic look at childhood’s earliest rite of passage.
According to Saed News, a compilation of first-day-of-school recollections from some of Iran’s most celebrated figures has captivated audiences with its blend of humor, vulnerability, and cultural resonance. The collection includes reflections from political, artistic, and entertainment icons, each offering a unique window into their earliest school experiences.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recalled the sensory impact of his first day in a dimly lit classroom with wax-paper-covered windows. “It was a dark, unpleasant day at first,” he said in a 1998 conversation with youth. “But once we got to the classroom and began playing, the day turned joyous.”
In a more comic—and painful—account, actor and director Mehran Modiri remembered being punched in the stomach by older students within minutes of entering the schoolyard. “I don't remember much after that,” he joked, “except waking up under the worried gaze of the principal.”
The poet Sohrab Sepehri described a sun-drenched classroom where gazing out at autumn leaves was punished. For actor Rambod Javan, day one was joyful—until he realized school was not all play, and by day two, he was the boy clinging to a lamp post, refusing to go.
Other anecdotes included footballer Arash Borhani’s innocent confusion over teacher-student dynamics, and writer Houshang Moradi Kermani’s experience helping build his school next to a cemetery in rural Kerman. “I lost three kilos in the first week,” he quipped, “but I won my first award for gardening.”
Together, these intimate memories offer a rare glimpse into the formative years of Iran’s public figures, reminding readers that fear, wonder, and the occasional schoolyard scuffle are universal markers of childhood.
