are only a stranger for the first five minutes, until you realise you’re among like-minded people. And at the beginning and the end it is all music. People meet while playing mu- sic; they sing together, look at one anoth- er, then toast each other and are no longer strangers. Unknown people relate to each other in songs. Emotion holds the key, and we offer it here in abundance with open arms – I’m told by the manager, Boško, while be- side him Sale the pianist, who plays for guests every day during lunch, nods his head, ac- knowledging that happiness is that which Two Stags and Skadarlija Street have as much of as your soul can seek. This story has endured for almost two centuries, and was written by actors, poets, artists, diplomats, storytellers, artisans, mu- sicians and other well-intentioned folk, lov- ers of beautiful music, good wine and good times. Enjoying themselves here were the likes of Đura Jakšić, Žanka Stokić, Laza Ko- stić, Tin Ujević, Momo Kapor and many oth- ers. For those of us who are local lovers of the kafan culture, it is perhaps more signifi- cant that this place was the debut venue for a singing performance of the then 15-year- oldTomaZdravković.Us,andmanybeforeus, but also the generations to come, will con- tinue to sing Toma’s songs, without which there almost wouldn’t be kafana music. To- ma also held his last concert at Two Stags, then quietly sailed off into legend... While we sip honey and plum rakija, pianist Sale, aka Saša Jovanović, shows us the tavern’s large hall and says that it was there that the first theatrical performances in Belgrade were held, then the first silent films screened, all to the accompaniment of a piano, of course! - The first piano arrived in Serbia in 1823. It was brought by Lord Jevrem Obrenović for his daughter, and as she re- sided in Šabac, its sounds first thrilled the streets of Šabac, and only later the capital city. At the end of the 19 th century the pi- ano was slowly moved from the lord’s house to the kafana, because at that time the kaf- ana was a cultural meeting place. People came to listen to performances of choirs, pi- anists, reciters, painters … The cultural life of the capital unfolded in front of the tav- ern. The Two Stags was there at the very be- ginning of this story, and is still there today, as a kafana that brings back the old spirit of the culture of Belgrade, with the piano and the choir, with unavoidable tamburitza players who delight guests every evening – says Sale, whose most important task is to create a good atmosphere and brings smiles to people’s faces. That’s why he tries to know a little about everything, so whoev- er he encounters can get a taste that suits them. The less shy guests even sit down
H ow they fight, my thoughts,”sing fifteen perfect voices around me, accompanied by tamburitza mu- sicians and a guitar grabbed by a waiter. Midnight has already passed, the last guest has departed satisfied into the Bel- grade night, but the guys from the choir of the Vocal Band and legendary Tamburice 5 have stayed behind, with good rakija brandy, for us to talk about music. We did talk a bit, but that didn’t last long as we’d rather sing, for the soul, because even musicians, with a good drink, during nights like this, some- times sing into the wee hours for themselves, lost in some happier place... As for me, I arrived some eight hours ear- lier at Skadarlija’s oldest tavern, Dva Jelena (Two Stags), to ask them what the spirit of old Belgrade is and whether it still exists. But most of all I came here to try to explain to the foreigners who read this article why the Serbian kafana tavern is unique around the world... Perhaps that’s precisely why I came here at lunch time so that maestro Sale, the piano animator, could tell me the secrets of the old piano that has been seen by kings and the world’s most important figures, and which then stood neglected for decades for- gotten, covered in dust. And perhaps that’s why this story ended deep into the night, be- cause it’s not easy to leave a kafana… sim- ply because you don’t want to go. Therein, they tell me here at Two Stags, lies the se- cret of kafanas... - Kafana taverns don’t only feed the stomach, but also the soul. Here people come for the experience. The spirit of Skadarlija is in its warmth and intimacy, because here you
Ne bi bilo dobrih noći da nije dobrih tamburaša, a najbolji su Tamburica 5 There wouldn’t be any good nights without good tamburitza players, and Tamburica 5 are the best
sme, bez kojih skoro da ne bi ni bilo kafanske muzike. U Dva jelena Toma je održao i svoj poslednji koncert, pa tiho otplovio u legendu. Dok ispijamo medovaču i šljivu, pijanista Saša Jovanović pokazuje na veliku salu kafane i kaže da su se u njoj održavale prve pozorišne predstave u Beogradu, pa onda nemi filmovi, sve uz pratnju klavira, naravno. – Prvi klavir stigao je u Srbiju 1823. godine. Doneo ga je gospodar Jevrem za svoju ćerku, a kako je stolovao u Šapcu, prvo su njegove dirke oduše- vile šabačke ulice, pa tek kasnije pre- stoničke. Krajem 19. veka klavir je iz gospodarskih kuća polako prešao u kafanu jer je u to vreme kafana bila kulturno stecište. Ljudi su dolazili da slušaju izvođenja horova, pijanista, re- citatora, slikara, kulturni se život pre- stonice odvijao ispred kafane. Dva je- lena su bila na početku te priče, a i danas su opet na početku kao kafa- na koja vraća stari duh tog kulturnog Beograda sa klavirom i horom, uz ne- zaobilazne tamburice koje svake no- ći razgaljuju goste – priča Sale kojem je najvažnije da napravi dobru atmos- feru i ljudima izazove osmeh. Zato se
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