36
hayat hikayesi
life story
neyinin sesi ve ölümsüz nefesi,
evrenin dört bir yanına dağıldı.
Neyzen Tevfik (Kolaylı) -
(24 Mart 1879’da Bodrum
– 28 Ocak 1953 İstanbul)
“Sadrazam Talat Paşa, bir
gün Neyzen Tevfik’e devlet
dairelerinin birinde kâtiplik
önerdi. Neyzen Tevfik ‘Kâtip
olacağım da ne olacak?’ diye
sordu. Talat Paşa, başladı
memurluk katlarını alttan üste
sıralamaya: ‘…vekil, nazır,
kim bilir belki de sadrazam...’
Neyzen yine sordu: ‘Ya sonra?
Talat Paşa ‘Hiç!’ deyince cevap
verdi Neyzen Tevfik: ‘Ben
bugün de ‘hiç’im! Sonu hiç
olduktan sonra, onca zahmete
katlanmaya ne gerek var?”
Babasının görevi nedeniyle
geldikleri Urla kasabasında
geçti Neyzen Tevfik’in
çocukluğu. Amatör bir neyzenle
tanıştı, ondan öğrendiği
nota ve usul bilgilerini kendi
kendine geliştirdi. Farsça’yı
da kendi öğrendi. Bir dönem
İzmir İdadisi’ne girdi ancak
bitirmeden ayrıldı. İstanbul’a
yerleşmeden önce İzmir
Mevlevihanesi’ne başlayan
Tevfik daha sonra, Mehmet Akif
Ersoy ile tanışmasına vesile
olan Galata ve Kasımpaşa
mevlevihanelerine girdi. 1900’lü
yılların başında Bektaşi dervişi
oldu. Bir süreliğine Mısır’a gitti.
Ustalıkla “üflediği” neyiyle kendi
kurallarını, üslubunu uygular,
müzik kurallarının dışına çıkardı.
Haksızlıklara başkaldıran,
özgürlüğünün peşinde olan, her
Neyzen Tevfik (Kolaylı) -
(March 24, 1879 Bodrum –
January 28, 1953 Istanbul)
“Grand Vizier Talat Pasha offered
work as a clerk to Neyzen Tevfik
at one of the government offices
one day. Neyzen Tevfik asked,
‘What will happen when I become
a clerk?’. Talat Pasha started
giving detailed information
about the hierarchical levels of
government work: ‘…deputy,
minister, who knows maybe a
grand vizier one day...’ Neyzen
asked again: ‘What then?’
When Talat Pasha answered
as,‘Nothing!’,Neyzen Tevfik
responded: ‘I am a ‘nothing’ now!
Why go through all that hassle if
the outcome will be nothing?”
Neyzen Tevfik spent his
childhood in the town of Urla
when they moved there because
of his father’s work. He met an
amateur ney player (neyzen)
there and developed his
knowledge on musical notes
and methods. He learned Farsi
by himself as well. He attended
the Izmir High School for a
while but left before graduation.
Tevfik first joined the Izmir
Mevlevi Lodge before moving to
Istanbul after which he joined the
Galata and Kasımpaşa Mevlevi
Lodges through which he met
Mehmet Akif Ersoy. He became
a Bektashi dervish during the
beginning of the 1900’s. He went
to Egypt for a while. He had
his own rules and style while
“breathing in” the ney and he
never followed musical rules. He
composed satirical music that
criticized all kinds of oppression
while seeking freedom. He was
never after being popular or well
known. His only goal was to tell
everyone what he believed was
correct. He had on his back the
coat of dervishes without ever
stopping to breathe in the ney
and drinking his wine.
“Once you were grass, you
became a reed and then a
ney. You became hey hey
against your screams. You
became water, root, bud,
vine, grape and wine. Your
every drop is an endless
depth for me.”
His real name was Tevfik Kolaylı.
The surname Kolaylı came from
the district of Kolay in Bafra, a
town in the city of Samsun where
he was born. Istanbul was the
place he stayed for the longest
period of time throughout his
life. He stayed in the Bakırköy
Karabaş- ı Veli Kültür Merkezi, Bursa
