Reader’s Digest India – August 2019

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in 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 and

Byapari breaks down as he

receives the 2018 Hindu Prize

for non-fiction.

Extraordinary Lives