Then there was Natobar. No, he was not associated with any Natyo Company but he was an artist, doubtless.
His artistry made people laugh and cry,eagerly and impatiently wait for the next episode. His artistic creations were golden in colour, very crisp from outside and melt-in-the-mouth from inside, heavenly in taste- Daalbora. How he made the daalboras so delicious is a question that no one could answer. I have eaten daalbora from other places but none could manage to come close to his creation.
By profession, he was a coal supplier. Yes, it was that time when cooking gas was not common in all households, he was their messiah. Through-out the day he would supply coal to households, black with soot from carrying the sacks and a man completely dejected and unhappy with life. Well, thats what his facial expression told us.
In the evening, after a bath, a different "terrikata" Natobar will sit on the footpath, singing romantic songs like "hey chancharo ashinto" in his native Oriya and serve the world the amrita called daalbora.
He was also great mime and a gifted ventriloquist. The local school would often stop him on his way to work. He would throw down the sack,run in and elate us with his expertise My first introduction to Charlie Chaplin was through Natobar in my Sunday prep school.He had learnt to copy him by watching free Sunday morning films that Movie theaters during those time ran. He did the shows with elan. His fees? A biri from the school clerk or a paan.
This man was thrown out of his job because he was growing old and too weak to carry the heavy sacks of coal. He died inside because he had thought he was free to give time to his makeshift shop but he was refused the space.
He left for his faraway village-dejected, crying, never to be heard of again. With him he took away those delectable "daalbora".
--Debjani Dutta
His artistry made people laugh and cry,eagerly and impatiently wait for the next episode. His artistic creations were golden in colour, very crisp from outside and melt-in-the-mouth from inside, heavenly in taste- Daalbora. How he made the daalboras so delicious is a question that no one could answer. I have eaten daalbora from other places but none could manage to come close to his creation.
By profession, he was a coal supplier. Yes, it was that time when cooking gas was not common in all households, he was their messiah. Through-out the day he would supply coal to households, black with soot from carrying the sacks and a man completely dejected and unhappy with life. Well, thats what his facial expression told us.
In the evening, after a bath, a different "terrikata" Natobar will sit on the footpath, singing romantic songs like "hey chancharo ashinto" in his native Oriya and serve the world the amrita called daalbora.
He was also great mime and a gifted ventriloquist. The local school would often stop him on his way to work. He would throw down the sack,run in and elate us with his expertise My first introduction to Charlie Chaplin was through Natobar in my Sunday prep school.He had learnt to copy him by watching free Sunday morning films that Movie theaters during those time ran. He did the shows with elan. His fees? A biri from the school clerk or a paan.
This man was thrown out of his job because he was growing old and too weak to carry the heavy sacks of coal. He died inside because he had thought he was free to give time to his makeshift shop but he was refused the space.
He left for his faraway village-dejected, crying, never to be heard of again. With him he took away those delectable "daalbora".
--Debjani Dutta
No comments:
Post a Comment