readersdigest.co.in 87in New Jalpaiguri and Assam, where
he worked in tea shops and dhabas.
Tea shops, and their chatter, were like a
library for him as a boy, Byapari says. “I
learnt about the Naxalbari movement
there and recognized that the Naxals
were exactly like me, their battle was
also against hunger. All year I would
work hard, but then had to hand over
my earnings to the owner and stay
hungry. What kind of justice was this?
Their battle was my battle.”
He left his job and wandered through
east and north India. “During this time,
I grabbed food from dogs’ mouths,
picked at dumpsters and followed
around beggars in hunger. One thing
was clear: No matter where you
are in India, there are people who go
to sleep hungry.”
He returned to Kolkata and,
incredibly, found his family, who
were overjoyed to see their lost child.
Meanwhile, the Naxal movement had
intensified further. A row between the
CPI(M) and the Naxals over a wall-
writing issue landed him in trouble,
even though he was just a sympathizer
at that point. “The actual offender got
away—being from a poor, low-caste
family, I was easy prey. Battered body,
broken legs, even though I kept saying I
was illiterate, I could not write.”
As it happened, his story reached
the ‘real Naxals’ and they got in touch,
asking him if he wanted revenge. He
was given medical treatment and
handed a pipegun, bomb and knife,
and a new chapter began.
At night, Byapari played Robin
Hood. “I was a brawler, alcoholic and
antisocial in the eyes of the public andByapari breaks down as he
receives the 2018 Hindu Prize
for non-fiction.Extraordinary Lives