
İhsan Devrim
918-Ihsan… “Present!”
ne of the old and loyal artists of Turkish theater and cinema, Ihsan Devrim, is only one of the thousands of children whose life have totally changed with the services of Darüşşafaka Society with a history that goes back to 1.5 centuries. Ihsan Devrim, who passed away in 2010, is known as Sürmeneli Yakup Dede [in English: ‘Yakup Granddad of Sürmene’] by most of us, who was a character in the television series called “Super Dad” (in Turkish: Süper Baba), which was one of the most favorite TV dramas for millions of people in the 90s.
In his life of around a century, he has shared unforgettable memories with a lot of people from Musahipzade Celal to Aziz Nesin, from Rıdvan Cebiroğlu to Salah Birsel, but he enshrines Darüşşafaka in his memory. “That is a wonderful memory… Thank God, I am from Darüşşafaka,” says İhsan Devrim, veteran actor of the Turkish theatre and cinema.
Being the oldest living actor of Istanbul City Theatres, İhsan Devrim welcomed us with Mrs. İlhan, his wife of 69 years, when we knocked his door in Etiler, Istanbul. The most important thing for him was our visiting him at his home in the name of Darüşşafaka. His first question was “Are you from Darüşşafaka?” A Darüşşafaka flag was displayed on the wall of his hall, and we saw a plaquette given by Darüşşafaka on TV set. We have met with a Darüşşafaka spirit not lost ever in spite of 73 years. Before listening his life story, we cannot help asking the reason of his loyalty to Darüşşafaka. İhsan Devrim replies with a single sentence: “My life has completely changed thanks to Darüşşafaka; I have become a literate person instead of being a dead-end kid”. In our conversation with İhsan Devrim, one thing led to another, memories led to other memories, and new stories got out of each story. İhsan Devrim has studied in Darüşşafaka between 1926 and 1936. His student number was 918. He said, “I was called ‘Kazatsky Ihsan’ at Darüşşafaka”, and added: “A dance called ‘Kazatsky’ was highly popular at the schools in those years. I was the best in Kazatsky.”
İhsan Devrim has studied in Darüşşafaka between 1926 and 1936, and has never severed his ties with Darüşşafaka in spite of seventy-three years after his graduation. As for the reason of his loyalty, İhsan Devrim says: “My life has completely changed thanks to Darüşşafaka; I have become a literate person instead of being a dead-end kid”.
Devrim, who was born in 1914 in Üsküdar, narrated his story as follows: “My father was promoted to be a Major in the Ottoman army. But I remember the retirement ages of my father, rather than his active service in the army. We used to live in Üsküdar, Inadiye Quarter, Bakkal Street. Then, the name of the street was changed to Musahipzade Celal Street.” At that point, Devrim states that they used to live in the same street with Musahipzade Celal, who is recognized to be one of the milestones of Turkish theater, and they established a close relationship. “Musahipzade Celal uncle showed concern for me. In Darüşşafaka, weekend holiday was in Thursday and Friday and then changed to Saturday and Sunday. Since my mother has lived in Ankara for some time, I was permanently staying in Darüşşafaka – they called as “singles” at those times. Musahipzade Celal uncle said: “You will no more stay at the school, and come to our home at weekends.” Thus, for some time, I went to the house of Musahipzade Celal uncle at weekends.” İhsan Devrim also explained a memory of him with Musahipzade Celal uncle as follows: “Musahipzade Celal uncle was a real gentleman… I was also keen on painting. In Darüşşafaka, drawing papers were given to students. If I took one drawing paper to Musahipzade Celal uncle every week, I was given 25 kurush. Of course, I was riding on air. Think, at those times, pocket money given to a single once every fifteen days was only 20 kurush.”
Turning point from a grocery boy to a famous artist
We asked Devrim to narrate his story of Darüşşafaka: “I studied at elementary school, in other words primary school, in Sokullu Mehmet Paşa located in Üsküdar Toptaşı. In Üsküdar, Paşa Kapısı, there was a school called Sultani, i.e. secondary and high school. But I did not have a father at that time because he passed away leaving my mother a widower. She used to sew clothes to make a living. I could not consider going to Sultani School. We did not even have the income to cover the books and notebooks required for the school. On those days, shoe repairing and being a grocery boy were ideal works for children as they both have tips. So, I had to work either as a shoe repairer or a grocery boy. A fatherly neighbor said, “You are wasting your life, son”, and asked me, “Why don’t you take Darüşşafaka’s exam?” I asked, “What is Darüşşafaka?” Then, he answered, “Don’t you know?” and started to talk about Darüşşafaka. It was 1926… He added, “There is an admission exam at Darüşşafaka now. I will take you, if you wish to go.” I took and passed the exam in 1926.”
Yet, passing the exam had not been enough after all. In 1926, Darüşşafaka had decided to accept eighty students, forty of which were coming from Darüleytan, i.e. orphanage, without being subject to examination, but seventy children had passed the examination in that year. Let’s hear the rest of the story from Ihsan Devrim: “At that era, there was an orphanage called ‘Darüleytan’. The children were really poor orphans without any parents. We were informed that seventy students, who had passed the exam, would draw lots for admission. There were three options for the lots: school, reserve and empty. The chairman of the committee for the procedure of drawing lots was a great musician Kazım Us, who had also studied at Darüşşafaka. When I drew the lot, it was empty. We started crying with my mother… There was a slope from the building of Darüşşafaka located in Fatih to the iron-gate. We walked through the slope crying in tears, you see. There was nothing to do: I would become either a grocery boy or had to have a similar job. There was no way to got to school for me. We went home. We had a grocer neighbor and my mother talked to him for taking me as an errand boy. The grocer told her that he would not pay, and he could only allow me to have the lunches with him. My mother accepted it.”
914 Rıdvan: The first child psychiatrist in Turkey
Ihsan Devrim narrates his life-changing story, with the same excitement which he felt on that day upon a letter that came from Darüşşafaka while he was waiting to be a grocery boy: “I received a letter from Darüşşafaka after seven or eight days following the drawing day of the lots. I had not started to work as a grocery boy yet. Our door is knocked, and then a voice came “Mail”… We have nothing to do with mails. A brownish yellow envelope… Darüşşafaka is written on the right side. I opened the envelope. A letter addressed to my mother: “You have to see Darüşşafaka Principal Ali Kami Akyüz together with your child at date … and … time.” We showed it to uncles in the neighbourhood. They said: “It is good for you. Go there. They won’t call you in vain.” We went to Darüşşafaka with my mother. Ali Kami Akyüz was brother of İsmail Safa, a poet from Darüşşafaka. He has also studied in and then appointed as principal of Darüşşafaka. He served as one of the unforgettable principals of Darüşşafaka for years. He left the office when he was elected as a member of the Parliament for Istanbul. He was a very valuable person. İsmail Safa, Vefa and Ali Kami brothers… All three have studied in Darüşşafaka. Ali Kami said: “There has been a mistake in Ihsan’s lot. One side of the paper that he drew is completely empty and ‘reserve’ is written on the other side. Some of the children who passed the exam could not be registered because of their health conditions and it was found out that some of them had fathers as a result of the investigation we made. Then, we had to look for the fourth reserve. We are accepting Ihsan under these circumstances.” We were very happy. I accepted to start from the fourth grade, i.e. to study previous two grades once again, although I had graduated from the primary school. Had I known French a bit, I would not lose a year. In that year, forty children came from Darüleytan, and we were divided into two branches: the students who passed the exam and the students who came from Darüleytan. One of those students was Prof. Dr. Rıdvan Cebiroğlu, i.e. 914 Rıdvan, who is one of the first child psychiatrists of Turkey and the founder of the Department of Child Psychiatry of Istanbul School of Medicine.”
917 Nusret: Aziz Nesin
Indeed, one of the most interesting students who are mentioned in Ihsan Devrim’s memories of Darüşşafaka is Aziz Nesin, who is an unrivalled author of Turkish literature:“I was at the second grade of the secondary school. My student number was 918 Ihsan, and there was 917 Nusret, i.e. Aziz Nesin, next to me. Nusret was a quiet and shy boy. Nusret left the school at the seventh grade, as his father -who was considered to be dead- returned home.”
Ihsan Devrim had a passion for literature for a certain period. He has published three books called ‘Evimiz’, ‘Hatıralar’ and ‘Yemen Türküsü’ [in English: ‘Our Home’, ‘Memories’ and ‘Yemen Song’]. Devrim’s literary life started in the years when he was studying at Darüşşafaka: “I was into literature in 1930s. There was a journal called Resimli Ay [in English: ‘Pictorial Moon’] and also an additional journal called Küçük Hikâyeler Koleksiyonu [in English: ‘Short Stories Collection’]. They started a story competition. I was at the seventh grade. At Darüşşafaka, my student number was 918 and there was a friend next to me: 919 Rüştü… I had written two stories and wanted to send them to the competition. Rüştü was a character in one of my stories and I won the competition with that story. Resimli Ay Matbaası [in English: ‘Pictorial Moon Printing House] presented Rüştü with ten or fifteen books and journals. After I won the competition, I subscribed to a journal called Varlık [in English: ‘Life’] and they started to publish my stories. In 1934, my signature became quite famous: Sait Faik, Ihsan Devrim and Ümran Nazif…”
When he was in the first class of high school, Devrim started to publish a magazine named “Gündüz”. He narrates that era of his life as follows: “We met with friends from Robert College. They wished to publish a magazine. They accepted me as well. “Yücel” magazine which was published for years. Then, I said to myself “Why don’t I publish a magazine?”, and I started to publish Gündüz magazine when I was in the first class of high school. It lived for five years. In 1938, I was in the Faculty of Law. My wife was also in the same Faculty. We have met recently. He was in the second grade, and I was in the first grade. I was leaning over backwards to publish Gündüz. She said to me: “You are getting very tired, leave it.” I took her advice. After one year, I left the magazine publishing business. Then, we, as three friends, opened ABC Bookstore: Storywriter and journalist Burhan Arpad, poet Salah Birsel and me… There was Maarif Bookstore at the left hand when you walk into Cağaloğlu Slope from Ankara Street. We rented a shop after it. We distributed duties among ourselves. Every day one of us would come early, open the store and clean it… God rest his soul. Salah Birsel started to cry off saying, “I am a poet, I cannot sweep a shop.” Therefore, Burhan and I left the partnership. There was a butcher’s shop across ABC Bookstore. I rented that shop and opened Devrim Bookstore. Devrim Bookstore could survive for long years, but I published Rıfat Ilgaz’s book called ‘Sınıf’ [in English: ‘Class’]” God rest his soul, Rıfat Ilgaz was a leftist and was a member of an illegal leftist political party. When we published ‘Sınıf’, we were sued in the Military Commission in Tophane. Therefore, I was obliged to sell Devrim Bookstore, because I had no money to hire a lawyer. At those times, lawyers would charge vast sums of money for such political lawsuits. Then, I sold the store at 3 thousand lira and gave all of it to the lawyer.”
Ihsan Devrim on stage
Devrim’s theater career started at Darüşşafaka: “When we were studying at Darüşşafaka, we established a troupe called Üsküdar Gençler Mahfeli [Üsküdar Youth Center]. We started to prepare plays with my friends from Darüşşafaka and Üsküdar. There was Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi [in English: ‘Republican People’s Party’] (CHP) [in English: ‘RPP’] across the Üsküdar Park and CHP provided us a hall. We started to stage plays on Saturdays and Sundays at that hall. The people of Üsküdar embraced us. Musahipzade Celal uncle always helped me. Mr. Cevat, a painter from Üsküdar, was painting our scenery and décor. We had such a psychologic deal: an art deal… But four or five members of our amateur troupe were from Darüşşafaka. They were sleeping in our house after each performance. My poor mother started to host us in the large hall of our home. It was like a dormitory room. We had such a life.”
Opening the curtains
Although Devrim left the School of Law at the end of the first grade, he met and got married with Mrs. Ilhan while she was studying at an upper class at the same school: “I got married and moved to Bakırköy. I started working at Bakırköy Community Center. We had an absolutely amateur stage life. Turhan Göker, who was a good actor, was also working with us at the Community Center. He was also working at the City Theaters and he was insisting me to apply to the City Theaters. He said to me: ‘Start to work as prompter, then you can be promoted to acting. You have talent.’ I had also a friend from Darüşşafaka in City Theaters. He was from an upper class. Then, he left the school and entered the theatre: Sami Ayanoğlu. I got a letter from City Theaters in 1950 or 1951. In the letter, I was requested to see Mahmut Moralı, who was a director at the City Theaters located in Tepebaşı. Then, I found out that Turhan Göker had applied to the City Theaters on my behalf.”
Devrim explains that day as follows: “Democrat Party (DP) has come to power after Republican People’s Party (CHP). A committee from City Theaters has met to rewrite the guidance of CHP era. And there were my friends in the committee, because I had also some time been involved in politics. I had served as Bakırköy district president of DP. In the day I went there, the committee was in meeting for guidance. My friend Selahattin Karayavuz, who later became a Trabzon deputy, was also in the committee. When he saw me, he asked: “What are you looking for here?” Mahmut Moralı said: “We are recruiting İhsan as a prompter, but are going to cast him as well.” “All right, let’s immediately recruit him,” said Selahattin, and I was recruited. Thus, I started to work as a prompter in City Theaters. Then, I started to play a bit part. Later, Vasfi Rıza (Zobu) transferred me to comedy. At those times, comedy and drama were in separate buildings. Now, both are non-available. Thus, I entered in City Theaters, was promoted, and retired as a senior actor in 1973.”
Fame with a single TV drama
As an old and loyal actor, he was widely acclaimed at ‘Süper Baba’ [in English: ‘Super Dad’], which was broadcasted on a private TV channel in 1993-1997. Perhaps, that is why he said that his role as Sürmeneli Yakup Dede [in English: ‘Yakup Granddad of Sürmene’] in the TV drama has excited him the most: “The TV series lasted for five years, and then we started shooting ‘Baba Evi’ [in English: ‘Family Home’]. The audience likes me. I will never take this for granted. In Süper Baba, my role was dubbed by Müşfik Kenter. He was excellent. Müşfik has also made a great contribution in the growth of this role. Later, I did not receive any good script. Some companies sent scripts, but some were unethical, and some contained zealotist propaganda. I don’t play in any of them. They said they were going to pay more, but money does not mean everything to me. For this reason, I didn’t accept those bad offers.”
Like a seagull…
We learn that a poem of İhsan Devrim has been composed as a tango song. “I don’t pretend to write poems, but my poems are published in such magazines as Varlık and Yücel. Even a poem named “Like a seagull” was composed as a tango song. It was 1940. We are yet flirting with my wife. We have serious intentions. Families also know. Ms İlhan, her brother Fahri and I have gone to a picnic. I heard a song. I cocked my ears to lyrics. I said: ‘Friends, this is my poem.’ Fahri went to the source of music, and asked them to replay the song. In those years, there was a record label named ‘Sahibinin Sesi’. The record was released by them. I called the lawyers of my uncle. They said that I could get copyright royalty. They sued the firm. The record has outsold, and I was paid a lot of money. When we married, we bought our houseware with that money.”
When we ask about his unforgettable memories in his life of around a century, he says that his most important aspect is to be from Darüşşafaka. “That is a wonderful memory… Thank God, I am from Darüşşafaka.”
İhsan Devrim’s poem composed as a tango song: Like a seagull
You ran away just like a seagull yearning for the far afield
From the coast of my love, and from the horizon of my eyes
You came and went away just like a summer cloud
What remained in me from you is the sound of a rain
But the clouds will of course meet again one evening
And one morning the seagulls will return to their coasts
I wish you also return to me like a seagull and I reembrace you
I wish you again rain into me like a summer rain
Darüşşafaka Magazine (November 2009)