Surprising confession from Orhan Gencebay: A dog made me a musician
Recounting how he was attacked by a stray dog in his childhood, Orhan Gencebay said, "It played a major role in my starting music."
12punto
As reactions continue regarding the bill on stray dogs being discussed in Parliament, artist Orhan Gencebay has also joined the debate.
Speaking to Halktv, Gencebay recounted being chased by a stray dog during his childhood years, describing those memories as follows:
"Our neighbor had a sweet dog. It was a small dog. One day, while I was waiting for my friend, the dog bit my foot. Back then, there were small yellow boots. The dog bit through my boot, and it was a serious bite. We had to go to the hospital immediately because the dog had disappeared, and in such cases, animals must be kept under observation for ten days. If it doesn't have rabies, there is no problem. If it does have rabies, the person bitten also carries the risk of having rabies, and in that case, if treatment is delayed, there is a risk of death. My mother and I went to the hospital and started getting injections. I received injections for ten days, but on the tenth day, it wasn't a doctor but a cleaning worker at the hospital who was giving the injection, and it hurt a lot. On the eleventh day, I ran away from the hospital to avoid getting the injection. I told my mother I had to go. I didn't want to get the injection because it hurt so much. My mother said to me, 'My son, please don't do this,' but I ran away. I ran fast and got away from my mother.
My mother chased after me and said, 'I will buy you whatever you want, just agree to get the injection.' I stopped then and told my mother, 'If you buy me a mandolin, I will come.' At that time, people called the bağlama a mandolin, but I actually loved the bağlama very much. My mother explained the situation to my father, and my father bought me a real mandolin. This was a detail from that period where the name of the mandolin was known incorrectly, but this event made me love the bağlama very much. Later, we found that dog; it didn't have rabies. But that little thing played a major role in my starting music."
'I WILL DO WHATEVER I CAN'
Touching upon the Ankara Animal Rights rally that took place yesterday, the singer said, "I wasn't there, but I said that my heart was there. I want to take part in everything done for the sake of goodness, humanity, and animals."