It has been such a long time since I wrote here. Recently I went to a gallery which was organized in association with Japan . This year is Japanese year in Turkey, so there have been so many cultural activities in Turkey about Japan. I went to a gallery, and saw some paintings of Japanese and Turkish painters. The theme was ‘love’.I would like to share what I saw with you. I took the pictures by myself and the qulity is not so good but also not too bad. Here is the entrance of the gallery.
And paintings;
Some written words;
I have no idea what written there. Please, help?
Here is a Turkish carpet!
It is not a magic carpet! Even If it was, I could not be able to ride it as I don’t have any kind of driving licence including a car’s!
Oppsss… I am just pulling my leg!I wish it could be a magic carpet!
Hello my dear friends Erina, Manu and everyone who reads such as Andre-san, Michiyo-san,
I hope you are alive and kicking and keep on having a playful travel and life as your motto. As of me, I am doing okay but having stressful times.
Anyway… We have already welcomed the new year, 2010. And I realized again how time flies…
Dear all, May new year bring us happiness&health&wealth than the previous years which were left behind.
I got to know a song sung by ‘Dreams Come True’. The song’s entitled ‘love love love’ . I love listening this song very much and decided to share this song with you while welcoming 2010.
Hope each of you are fine. As of me I am under the weather nowadays.
To my surprise, (unfortuantely) the weather in Istanbul is gloomy.
Anyway… This month I want to introduce another song of Şenay which is considered as a classical Turkish pop song. I translated it by myself, so there might be some mistakes in it, but I did my best! Here it is, hope you will enjoy listening! The song’s name is Sev Kardeşim (Love my brother)…
Love my brother
Look my brother* ( and also says that look my sister) !
Land me your hand
Come on my brother!
I have brought joy to you
Take my brother
Eat, drink, laugh ,play
Intertwine your arm with my neck, my brother!
Love my brother
My life(soul) sacrifes to your path!
Worship, my brother to all humanbeings
Once, We came into world
Stop fighting everyday sing that song of mine
The more loves, the more laughs each face
Let always purposes be the same
All hearts together
Once, we came into world
Forget fighting everyday sing that song of mine!
The more loves, the more laughs each face
Let the happiness be the same
Pain alltogether
*In Turkish, we call kardeş (kardesh) for both brothers and sisters (I mean for both genders, there is no separation like English has)!
It is a nice song indeed, isn’t it? In fact, It could be enough good for going in one ear and out the other. I do not want to bend your ear and I also do not want to bend my mind to song. But just listen listen listen! And Enjoy!
See you next month,
Time files as usual. I paid a visit to my grandfather after a year later so that my essay arrived late this month to you. I saw my beloved unique grandfather fine enough for a man who is approximately at the age of 100. That made me happy. Apart from that everything is the same old same old from myside.
And a summertime has been over and the season has just turned to ‘autumn’ with another word to ‘fall’ despite here is (extremenly) hot. Wishing a happy season to you!
Dear Erina, actually I was planning to write somethingelse this month but I changed my mind at the eleventh hour and wanted to sharea poem of Khalil Gibran I have read and loved very much.I do not want to say something on it but just the poem itself:
Song Of The Rain VII
I am dotted silver threads dropped from heaven by the gods.
Nature then takes me, to adorn her fields and valleys. I am beautiful pearls,
Plucked from the crown of Ishtar by the daughter of Dawn to embellish the gardens. When I cry the hills laugh; When I humble myself the flowers rejoice; When I bow, all things are elated. The field and the cloud are lovers And between them I am a messenger of mercy. I quench the thirst of one; I cure the ailment of the other. The voice of thunder declares my arrival; The rainbow announces my departure. I am like earthly life, which begins at the feet of the mad elements
And ends under the upraised wings of death. I emerge from the heard of the sea Soar with the breeze.
When I see a field in need,
I descend and embrace the flowers and the trees in a million little ways. I touch gently at the windows with my soft fingers,
and my announcement is a welcome song all can hear,
But only the sensitive can understand. The heat in the air gives birth to me, But in turn I kill it, As woman overcomes man with the strength she takes from him. I am the sigh of the sea; The laughter of the field; The tears of heaven. So with love -
Sighs from the deep sea of affection; Laughter from the colorful field of the spirit; Tears from the endless heaven of memories.
May we be in the pink and full of the joys of ‘spring’ with new season, ‘Fall’….
This month I want to introduce a very old classical Turkish pop song. It was very famous at the times when I had not been on earth yet! The translation was made by me, so there might be some mistakes, I would like to say sorry in advance for that despite doing my best. I like the lyrics itself which is very meaningful and ‘wishful’ as the title goes ‘hayat bayram olsa’ and I like also the voice of the singer who has not been known by new generations like me here, have already forgotten or was just put aside on a dusty shelf to be discovered by us someday . Anyway the title of the song’s meaning is like that: ‘Wishing a life as festival!’ and the translation of the lyrics of the song itself is as follows:
The happiest person in this world is the one who gives happiness The most loved person in this world is the one who knows how to love
The most powerful person in this world is the one who comes from difficult The most wisest person in this world is the one who knows himself/herself
Refrain:
If the whole world believe this
If one believes
Hayat bayram olsa = May life be the festival
If people join hand
If people alliance
Should (we)extend to eternity
Again refrain
The most mature person in this world is the one who smiles to the pain (or suffering)
The most noble person in this world is the one who comes to reason (or shows mercy)
The richest person in this world is the one who wins the hearts
The most excellent person in this world is the one who loves humanbeing (or is humanist)
Again refrain
A nice ‘wish’ indeed it is, isn’t it? Hoping that one day we,humanbeing, can really reach to this level as to bring these well-said words into life on earth ( better to say ‘at the four corners of the earth’) maybe before doing so, we,humanbeing have to bring these lines into hearts as well as mind of ours, then maybe bit by bit spreading around through the wind from ears to anothers, then, to mind and then, to final destination which is ‘heart’! I have just started talking nonsense , so I should put an end to my writing!
The stories or jokes ( whatever they are considered) continue…
How To Ride a Donkey
One day Nasreddin Hodja and his young son were on their way to the market. The Hodja was riding his donkey and his son was walking beside him. As they travelled such, they heard a couple of villagers who happened to be passing by, speak disapprovingly about them.
`Look at our Hodja Effendi,’ one said to the other, `he is comfortably riding on his donkey and letting his little boy walk along. Shame on the Hodja for making the boy suffer like that!’ When Nasreddin Hodja heard this, he wanted to rectify what was perceived as his selfishness. He put his son on the donkey and he started to walk beside. Shortly after, they met another couple of villagers.
`Look at the Hodja and his son!’ they said, `These are the times we are living in. A young boy is riding on the donkey and his poor old father is sweating to keep the pace. Today’s children have no respect for their parents.’ Nasreddin Hodja found some reason in this comment and thought of another remedy. They both got off of the donkey and started to walk beside it. A little while later, a group of villagers, also going to the market, approached the procession of the Hodja, the son and the donkey, all walking one after the other.
`This Hodja Effendi and his son have no minds, whatsoever.’ they whispered amongst themselves, `They are both beating on their feet and the donkey is strolling along. Don’t these people know what a donkey is for?’ Hodja heard this and thought they had a point. The solution was clear. Both he and his son sat on the donkey. As they continued their trip this way, thinking that they have finally complied with all the opinions of their fellow villagers, they met another of their acquaintances. He was not very happy to see both the Hodja and the boy on a scrawny donkey.
`Hodja Effendi,’ he yelled, `don’t you know no mercy? How is this poor little animal supposed to carry two people? The donkey is also Allah’s creation, have some pity.’ Nasreddin Hodja agreed with this last remark as well. What were they to do? He shouldered the front body of the donkey and his son took on the back part, and they carried the donkey to the market place.
Whom do you trust
A neighbour comes to the gate of Mulla Nasreddin’s yard. The Mulla goes out to meet him outside.
“Would you mind, Mulla,” the neighbour asks, “lending me your donkey today? I have some goods to transport to the next town.”
The Mulla doesn’t feel inclined to lend out the animal to that particular man, however; so, not to seem rude, he answers:
“I’m sorry, but I’ve already lent him to somebody else.”
Suddenly the donkey can be heard braying loudly behind the wall of the yard.
“You lied to me, Mulla!” the neighbour exclaims. “There it is behind that wall!”
“What do you mean?” the Mulla replies indignantly. “Whom would you rather believe, a donkey or your Mulla ?”
A FORTY YEAR OLD WINE
One day, a neighbor said to the Hodja:
Have you a wine that is forty years old?
Yes I have, replied the Hodja.
Can you give me a little, asked the neighbour.
“If I gave a little to everybody asking for it”, said the Hodja, “It would not be forty years old!”
That’s all for now!
My you be full of the joys of spring,
Nasreddin Hoca is an important cultural icon and a legendary satirical figure in Turkey. He was a philosopher, wise, witty man with a good sense of humour lived during the Middle Ages.
Nasr-ed-Din means ‘victory of faint’, Hodja means the ‘master’ or ‘teacher’.
Between July 5-10 of each year, the International Nasreddin Hodja Festival takes place in Akşehir where his tomb is.
1996-1997 was also declared International Nesreddin year by UNESCO.
He sometimes does foolish things, sometimes acts weird but always comes to a wise and funny conclusion that both makes you smile and think There is always at least a moral hidden in the short stories or anecdotes to get.
Here is a few well-known stories from him:
Riding the donkey backwards
One day Nasreddin Hodja got on his donkey the wrong way, facing towards the back.
- ‘Hodja’ the people said, ‘you are sitting on your donkey backwards!’
- ‘No’, he replied. ‘It’s not that I am sitting on the donkey backwards, the donkeys facing the wrong way. ’
The Hodja was invited to a banquet. Not wanting to be pretentious, he wore his everyday clothes, only to discover that everyone ignored him, including the host. So he went back home and put on his fanciest coat, and then returned to the banquet. Now he was greeted cordially by everyone and invited to sit down and eat and drink.
When the soup was served to him he dunked the sleeve of his coat into the bowl and said, “Eat, my coat, eat!”
The startled host asked the Hodja to explain his strange behavior.
“When I arrived here wearing my other clothes,” explained the Hodja, “no one offered me anything to eat or drink. But when I returned wearing this fine coat, I was immediately offered the best of everything, so I can only assume that it was the coat and not myself who was invited to your banquet.”
Innocent Thief
Hoja’s donkey was stolen. Instead of consoling, his neighbours were blaming him saying,
‘You should have tied the donkey securely!’
‘Didn’t you hear any noises!’
‘You should have locked the shed!’
Hodja listened patiently for a while and finally said,
”Well, you are putting all the blame on me…Do you think the thief was innocent”
That’s all for now!
May you be in the pink of health as well as being full of the joys of spring,
Hoping that everything is on the way in a very smooth way in your lives. Mine is on the way in the same way.
This month I want to mention about a movie which I have watched recently. It was directed by Danny Boyle and written by Simon Beaufoy , was highly acclaimed, winning four Golden Globe Awards and eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It also won five Critics’ Choice Awards and seven BAFTA Awards.
And Q & A is the novel by Vikas Swarup, an Indian diplomat. It was the author’s first novel published in 2005. It was the basis of the 2008 feature film Slumdog Millionaire. The novel was re-published under the title Slumdog Millionaire after the success of the film. By the way, I have not read the mentioned book yet.
In the opening scene, we hear that Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 million rupees on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and asking cinema audience that ‘ How did he do it?’ A-) He cheated, B-) He’s lucky, C-) He’s a genius, D-) It is written.
We learn the answer at the end of the film after the policeman who detained Jamal to interrogate whether he was cheating or not. A tea server who was working at a call center, could be enough genius or lucky to know all? Definitely not for some.
I do not want to talk in detail about occurrences in the movie much . Because some of you who read this essay could not have the chance to watch it , so I do not want to spoil in case you might watch. But I wanna mention about some things which came up to my mind again after the film. Street children… In Turkey, we have street children, too. In practice, every city in the world has some street children, including the biggest and richest cities of the industrialized world. Unfortunately, the amount is rising. Most of them are not enough lucky even like Jamal. On the other hand, I also do not consider Jamal as a lucky guy. The more we learn step by step about his life experiences, the more we learn how the answers were known by one by. I wish the children like them could not be abused by others, do not become of victims of wicked ones or do not meet prejudices of society’s but meet good people who can give helping hands. Society often tries to forget them or ignore them. From my point of view, they are the victims of ignorant society’s as much as unfortunate circumstances. Unfortunately then some others from society become victim of ‘street children’. It goes on like a chain. Society turn a deaf ear to them till they see their commiting crimes. Before it, could not we, humanbeing, do something in order to gain them into society before too late? A big question mark? Is it their fate?
Most of street children are being involved or involve in crimes, thieves or or or… Street children experience loneliness, neglect, abuse, drug addiction and various medical problems. Too hard to struggle without any help at that young age. Street children also face bleak future and are walking on the fire on naked foot. Dreams on fire as well as thier lives! Only a few of them are enough lucky to get themselves out of this situation. Fire dance? That reminded me the song of ‘fire dance’ by Loreena McKennitt.
Dear all, estimates vary but according to one of them, the number of children living independently in the streets totals between 100 million and 150 million worldwide.
As being Demet, the only thing I can do is thinking and writing about them here to only bring attentions onto them but nothing more.
Dear all, by the way I was so happy to see the happy end at the movie. The most striking point that he, as a slumdog, was a contestant of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire hoping to see her Latika to whom he was in love from his childhood, but not hoping for winning money. She was his life motivation. Their love described along with movie was absolutely ‘so pure’ only a few lucky ones can reach in the World. In this case, are not they lucky? Yes, They are!
Another point was ‘two brothers’ whose characters are very different from eachother. They were orphaned at an very early age. Salim was Jamal’s protector as well as antagonist. Very strange! Salim could have been someone else but burdened under brutality and urban violence and joined them in order to survive and to be powerful. But one also could see the good side of him and consider him as a victim of ‘….’.
I loved to see that the ‘honesty’ as well as innocence won in the end, the slumdog’s despite …
Would you like to listen to ‘Ringa Ringa’ from the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack?
By the way, Do you believe in ‘fate’? Is it written?
Spring is already in Turkey . The pictures I got from my sister made an impression on me that spring is already in Japan,too. I believe in that ‘ A Picture is worth a thousand words’, so to make a long story short, here are the chosen pictures ( All the pictures I saw were wonderful but I had to chose just a few among them. ) They were all taken in Narita by my brother-in-law or my sister who are in Narita. Thank you for the marvellous pictures!
Hello Dear Manu, Erina and everybody who reads,
I do not know, how is the life out there , but here is going on the same way. Some of the trees along the road has dressed earlier , one of them is the little plum tree in the garden which dressed in white looking like a bride. Despite the cold weather, the little plum tree and only left plum who is getting reddish day by day challenge and I witness. I am looking forward to having spring around.
Anyway… I wanna go on from the point where I left last month.
This month I want to introduce another prolific Turkish poet who died last year. He is Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca.
Worldwide
Here or in India or in Africa
All things resemble each other.
Here or in India or in Africa
We feel the same love for grains.
Before death we tremble together.
Whatever tongue he may speak,
His eyes will utter the meaning.
Whatever tongue he may speak,
I hear the same winds
That he is gleaning.
We humans have fallen apart.
Boundaries of land split our mirth.
We humans have fallen apart.
Yet birds are brothers in the sky,
And wolves on the earth.
As the saying goes: ‘’We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learnt the simple art of living together as brothers. Our abundance has brought us neither piece of mind nor serenity of spirit.’’ ( Martin Luther King, Jr, Strength to Love, 1963)
Both making thier remark with the combinations of mere words.
Would you like to listen to Kitaro’s work entitled Agreement?
Watching the world from our window of life Can we see all there is that is real, that is right? To the distance so far from our true understanding Making us —want more—-, making us —see less—
………. Speaking of worlds driven far far apart How the (industry) innocence crushes the nature of things To the point that we lose, all we’re trying to gain Making us -want more,- making us -see less-
I suppose the song replies not to the both but to the general of the island in a way … As for Demet, I have no comment but…
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? And for what?
, so I should put an end to my writing! 
Innocent Thief 
Worldwide
