Kolkata :
It’s probably apt that he has adopted the name Azad. Bumbaiyya, as he was known on the Howrah station platforms, has certainly broken free, thanks to a few well-wishers. Azad is now a strapping 20-year-old-youth, working in a glass factory in Odisha and looking after his widowed mother and sister. But things were not always this way for him. There was always the possibility of Bumbaiyya losing his way and ending up dead in some dirty gutter close to one of the busiest railway stations in the world.
Nobody seems to know what Bumbaiyya’s real name is. In 2004, when award-winning filmmaker Gerry Troyna was shooting at Howrah station for his BBC Four project ‘Monsoon Railway’, he came across the 10-year-old child and featured him in the documentary that won international acclaim.
“Bumbaiyya had apparently run away from home and turned up at the Howrah station. There, he collected used plastic bottles from the tracks and platforms. He also travelled a lot on trains, particularly those moving towards Mumbai. That is how he seems to have got the name ‘Bumbaiyya’. Gerry did not stop at featuring him in the film alone. He insisted that the boy start life afresh and seek shelter with an NGO in Kolkata. Bumbaiyya also came in touch with Mahindra Shinde, who is a former street child and part of Gerry’s crew now. He seems to have been inspired and actually adopted to the discipline involved in staying at the hostel run by the NGO. I would monitor his progress and Gerry would also keep in touch from wherever he was,” said Pallavi Biswas, a member of Troyna’s team.
It was at the hostel that Bumbaiyya adopted the name Azad. He took up studies and rugby. He was so good at the sport that Azad got selected to the national under-19 rugby team. “I played for the national side in several parts of the country. I also travelled abroad to countries like England and Thailand. By then, I had got in touch with my family in Odisha. Before I could sit for my Class X examinations, my father passed away and there was nobody to look after my mother and sister. I love rugby and would have loved to continue but had to start looking for a job to take care of them,” Azad said.
He believes that there is similar potential in other children who grow up on railway platforms. “They simply require a platform (not the railway kind) and some helping hands. They will certainly realize their potentials and grow up to be responsible adults,” Azad added.
Troyna doesn’t feel that he did anything out of the ordinary for the youngster. “I just opened a door for him. It was for him to take the opportunity. Today, when I watch this strapping young lad, I am proud. I am full of admiration. The films I make are not just entertainment. I believe that they must leave a positive effect. The people who agree to let us enter their lives must benefit in some way. I try to maintain a positive contribution and have never betrayed the trust of people, whether a beggar or a senior official. Azad loves rugby and is actually very good at it. I just hope he gets a job where he can continue to play the sport,” the 65-year-old filmmaker said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Jayanta Gupta, TNN / July 12th, 2014