Jaan Pehk recalls cemetery as childhood playground

Musician and writer Jaan Pehk told ERR’s television programme Ringvaade that a cemetery was one of his childhood playgrounds. Pehk, who has lived in Türi for almost his entire life, said his favourite places there have changed very little.

“When I was younger, the area by the river was one of my main places to play,” Pehk said.

His book, “My Türi,” was completed for the 100th anniversary of his hometown. Pehk described it as his “inner map”, while also incorporating substantial parts of Türi’s history into the encounters presented in the book.

In the book, Pehk enters into dialogue with many people who are no longer alive. He said the format was familiar from earlier attempts to conduct interviews with fictional characters. “You immediately enter your own world and let things go their own way, without knowing yourself what will come of it in the end,” he said.

Pehk’s earliest memories connected with Türi Cultural Centre include a singing competition. He won his first singing contest there in 1982, and had his first major cinema experience in the building’s cinema hall, where he watched the musical film “Nukitsamees” with his mother.

“The cemetery was my childhood playground. I can no longer find my hiding places because it has been 35 years since I wandered around here,” Pehk said. He added that the place remained somewhat wild and little had changed, which he liked, although it might have become slightly more open.

“Even if we do not want to admit it, we remain quite like the people we were as children. I do not think I have changed very much, perhaps only in appearance,” Pehk said.