Turk roman ve oyun yazari (Mehmet Rasit Ogutcu) Orhan Kemal’in dogum yildonumu (15 Eylul 1914)
Firladik. Sora sora Alisfeneri'ni bulduk. Tutun depolarini teker teker dolastik. Ogleye dogru, eli yuzu, ustubasi kir pas icinde Necip, karsimizdaydi. Aci aci tutun kokuyordu. Gozlerine inanamiyordu. Beni birakip Gazi'ye, Gazi'yi birakip bana sariliyordu. Sonra gitti, depodan izin aldi. Calistigi deponun yanindaki bir lokantaya bizi soktu, evvela karinlarimizi doyurmamizi soyledi. ‘Ben’, dedi, ‘depoya kadar gidecegim. Beni su bitisikteki kahvede bekleyin, soylerim, para filan vermeyin!’ Gazi masaya cokmustu bile: ‘Dikilme lan’, dedi; ‘otur da yumulalim!’ Catalini tabaga vurdu. ‘Biraz kisa gecelim’ dedim, cunku...’ Karisma. Acliktan habibim sasiyor benim. Garson, kardas, bak hele be... Ulan amma da mostra garsonlar be.. Lan bak hele, garson!’ Garson geldi. ‘Bana,’ dedi, ‘evvela zeytinyagli dolma.. Yahut bosver zeytinyagliya. Sadeyagli olsun, amma, irisini secsin ustan ha!’ Garson gulerek cekildi. ‘Ne bakiyorsun,’ dedi, ‘bir haftalik yiyecegim. Sana ne? Fakat ne bildi Necip ac oldugumuzu? Benizlerimiz mi donmus acaba? Fakat arkadas boyle olur. Herif bir bakista nevrimizin dondugunu anladi, aferin!’ Garson onun dolmalarini getirmisti. ‘Bana’, dedim, ‘bir corba’. Necip paydosta geldi. Sokagi dolduran tutun iscilerinin gurultulu kalabaligi onumuzden geciyordu. Onlarin kirli, pasli, fakat her seye ragmen neseli kalabaligi icinde olmayi cok isterdim. Necip, boyuna soruyor, guluyor, seviniyordu. ‘Maclara gideriz, oyle maclar oluyor ki. Hangi kulube gireceksiniz? Fenerbahce'ye girin bence. Cunku Fenerbahce...’ Arada Gazi'yle bakisip usullacik guluyorduk. Kimbilir kacinci kahvelerimizi ictikten sonra: ‘Hangi otelde kaliyorsunuz? diye sordu. ‘Oteliniz temiz mi bari? Gazi bana goz kirpti: ‘Temiz,’ dedi. ‘Bu gece bizde kalirsiniz. Haydi gidelim…”
“Off we went. We eventually found the docks and walked around all the tobacco warehouses there. And, sure enough, by lunchtime, there was Nejip, standing in front of us, covered in a filthy brown layer of muck. He stank of tobacco. He could not believe his eyes. He hugged me, hugged Gazi, then hugged me again. Then he went inside a warehouse and asked for a short break. He shoved us into the restaurant next door and told us to have ourselves a good meal.‘I’ve got to get back now,’ he said, ‘but when you’re finished here you can wait for me at the café. I’ll have a word, so don’t you pay for anything! ’Gazi had already sat down. ‘Don’t just stand there,’ he said to me. ‘Sit down, and let’s tuck in!’ He impatiently tapped his fork on his plate.‘Let’s not get too carried away,’ I warned, ‘because…’‘Leave me alone. I’m so hungry I can’t see straight. Waiter, excuse me, over here…. These waiters are a bit dozy… Hey, waiter, over here’The waiter came over. ‘First,’ said Gazi, ‘bring me some cold dolma… Or, no, wait. I’ll have hot dolma, but make sure the chef gives me some big ones!’ The waiter chuckled as he went off.‘What are you staring at?’ Gazi asked me. ‘I’m going to eat a week’s worth. What’s it to you? But how did Nejip know we were hungry? Do we look that starved, I wonder? That’s what you call a friend. One look at us,and he could tell we were hungry. Good on him!’ The waiter brought his dolma. ‘I’ll have a bowl of soup, please,’ I said. Nejip came over much later when his shift was done. The streets were full of tobacco workers and their hubbub. I would love to have been one of their rusty-brown, dirty but none the less cheerful crowd. Nejip kept asking us questions, laughing and being happy. ‘We can go and see some games. You wouldn’t believe some of the matches they have. Which club are you going to go to? I’d say you should get yourselves into Fenerbahce. You see Fenerbahce…’ Gazi and I exchanged glances and smiled to ourselves. ‘So which hotel are you staying in?’ Nejip asked, after we’d had God knows how many coffees. ‘Is it a nice, clean place?’ Gazi winked at me. ‘Very clean,’ he said. ‘Well, you can stay with me for tonight anyway. Come on then…”
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