Monday, February 18, 2008

WOMEN OF US; CRAZY AYSEL


Today, we lost our "CRAZY AYSEL".

She was one of our women, one of our extraordinary women...

Aysel Gürel was probably one of the most colorful characters we had. Turcologist, literature teacher, actress, lyricist and composer Aysel Gurel died at the age of 80 yesterday. Born at 1928, she graduted from Istanbul University, History of Arts.

She was known by her joyful, interesting, cheerful, and original and contrast personality. She was a woman who always reminded me the immortality.

She was the mother of Turkish actresses Mujde Ar and Mehtap Ar. According to her daughter she sent a message to Turkish women before her death; "I worked till the age of 79. I worked nonstop. This should be an example to Turkish women. They should not give up working."

She left us those beautiful songs as Firuze, Yanarım (Burning), Gençlik Başımda Duman (Youth is a cloud over my head), Yalnızca Sitem (Only Reproach), 1945, Ne Kavgam Bitti Ne Sevdam (Neither My Love, Nor My Fight Ended), Değer mi? (Woul It Worth), Sır (Mystery), Yolun Başı (Begining of the Road), Sarıl Bana (Hold Me), Zor Kadın (Difficult Woman), Aşk (Love), Vur Yüreğim (Beat My Heart), Zorba Aşk (Despotic Love), Dönmeyeceğim (I Will Not Turn Back), Ayrıldık İşte (So We Seperated), Son Dua (Last Prayer) and her two books; Şiir Şimdi (Poem Now) and Senin İçin Sana Değil (For You, Not To You). Her movies include; Sarkici (Singer), Agir roman (Cholera Street), Kupa kizi (The Heart Queen), Üvey ana (The Stepmother), Meyhane koseleri, Tek kollu canavar, Yurda dönüs.

There was a wisdom making fun of life in everything related with her. In an interview she say; "Certainly. One can fall in love with potato or a painting. For example, I am in love with violin. It is not possible to believe in love between man and woman. Look at the animals; female monkeys are coupling with sixty males a day. Now men are just like that, like bulls. They climb over a woman and make gym. Their understanding of love is just like going to a gym. But there are some special people; poets, painters, writers idealize this primitive feeling and produce creations according to themselves. In fact this is a fooling system...."

Crazy Aysel didn't have an easy life. She divorce her journalist husband while she was 7 months pregnant to her second daughter. In a way, it was her choice to be known as "crazy" to survive and protect her family in the men dominated world. Müjde Ar says she always adviced her children "Don't be a thief, don't be a whore!" While she was so protective of her daughters; one day Müjde turn late from school and "crazy" Aysel punish/ gives the lesson in her own way; fallowing day she goes to school, pulls Müjde's skirt and show her underwears to everybody, saying "Come late again and I will do the same!"

It is impossible to describe her. There was something with her, which complete a naughty side of our souls. May be her whole life should be seen as an example to us, as a protest to hypocracy, fake norms of life. She was able to reply a question about her gender identity as; "I am autosexuel". At her 75th birthday she was surprising people with the words; "I am still a virgin. I will still be a wonder of world even at the age of 97".

We withnessed only the extraordinary actions she showed outside, can never know the intense feelings that interesting woman experienced. She was sure one of those characters one would be lucky to know. She was one of those women who deserve to be remembered.

Wish she rest in peace...

Wish she rest in joy...

...think she would wish us sing that unforgettable song she wrote...

it was longing it was separation
hours separated to sorrows
I saw two tears drops flowing
together with affection with separation

like a poem like a song
I lived my life with pains
memory for me now, beloved sorrows
that I hide from you

I hide you like a secret
an oath,like a hidden dream
I carry this load, you go
I dont grieve

dont cry I cant bare
dont cry my baby I cant resist you
take my heart let it be yours
if your heart remains in me I cant live

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