Balenin Çınarı

Meri İstiroti, one of the doyennes of the healthcare sector, has another book on the shelves. The book titled “Balenin Çınarı” tells the story of Madam Lili Barokas, one of the oldest ballet teachers of the Republican era. Although she recently celebrated her jubilee in the profession, Madam Lili never lost her passion for life or her discipline, and her life story will be a source of inspiration for future generations as well.

Meri İstiroti’s journey in ballet, which began as a student of Madam Lili Barokas, lasted 16 years. Saying that this journey gave her teachings that shaped her personality and her life, Meri İstiroti, while searching for answers to questions like how to live well in later years, how to stay healthy and energetic up to the age of a hundred, and most importantly, how to keep one’s passion for life, drew inspiration from ballet teacher Madam Lili, who practiced this art professionally for 77 years, and wrote her life story.

Saying that she drew inspiration from Madam Lili not only while writing the book but also in her own life, Meri İstiroti described the book’s journey as follows: “Actually, I wanted to write this book for two reasons. When you reach your 40s and 50s, you start to understand yourself, and the values that make us who we are, better. In my 50s, I understood better what ballet and Madam Lili had given me. Self-discipline, the strength to keep working no matter the circumstances, and the feeling of staying well-groomed no matter the circumstances all stayed with me from those years. You could say ballet shaped my life. This summer I ran into Madam Lili on vacation. In animations, dances, all kinds of activities, she was putting the young people to shame. Suddenly it hit me like lightning. Her never-ending energy inspired me.”

Saying that although she and Madam Lili Barokas, who guided her between the ages of 6 and 21, crossed paths occasionally even after her graduation, she never had the kinds of questions in mind that she did at their last meeting, Meri İstiroti gathered in this book the answers to many questions about the life of Madam Lili, who, like a plane tree, put down roots in Turkish ballet history through the students she raised. Her artistic journey, the relationships she built with the international ballet world, the opportunities she provided her students, the sources of her life energy, and her discipline that defied the years form the book’s core themes.

Having been in contact for 77 years with hundreds of students, their families and many others, and having observed countless life stories, Madam Lili Barokas’s advice on professional and private life will give young people a brand-new perspective.