Few days back, outside the Marine Mercantile Department, Kolkata, I met this great man.
I had noticed him earlier as well but this time I had a long conversation with him.
He sells ‘Chaat’ outside the MMD.
While I was coming out of the gate, I heard a shivering voice, ” Babu! Chaat khilaynge?… Kha lijiye Babu”.
I stopped and asked him how much was that for. He said ₹20.
While he was making the chaat for me, I asked him about his age. 85 he replied. That was tough to believe, this man is in his 80s working so hard. On asking, he told that his son has left him and his wife was also sitting by the side on the ground there.
Now the magic of the chaat. It was amazing. The spices were completely handmade. And the taste of the chaat was awesome.
The spices were so delicious that I took some spices from him and gave him ₹200.
The man was continuously blessing with his hands and saying in sad tone ‘Babu! Babu karte hain.. Koi khata hai koi nahi khata hai.. Bheekh nahi mangte hain Babu”.
He told that everyday he walks with that stand and all the ingredients right from Maidaan area to this place to sell these.
Salute his dignity, hard work and courage in this age.
And all my sailor friends, my writer, blogger and author friends and my runner friends, next time you visit MMD, Kolkata. Don’t forget to eat the chaat of this man.
Story By – Suraj Deo Kumar
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