Odagaon: If anyone happens to come across a man in Maichheli village under Nuagaon block in Nayagarh district draped in yellow clothes sporting sandalwood paste on forehead, holding a Kendara, a string instrument and a ‘Goraknath’ written ‘Lau Tumba’ hanging from his shoulder, the first thought of facing up to a beggar will come in mind. But then that is not the case.
He is Naba Kishore Das who is a nature lover, film actor and a theatre artiste-all rolled into one.
When he sings in sync with the ‘Kendara’ tune at the local market here, his renditions make many stop and listen attentively. This correspondent was no exception. After he had finished his rendition it was easy to strike up a conversation with the easy-going Naba under the cool comforts of a banyan tree.
The brief discussion revealed a lot of interesting things about him. He is practicing celibacy and is a physically- challenged person.
“I was bitten by the acting bug since my childhood days. This intense urge for acting prompted me to leave my education mid-way,” states Naba.
After acting in several village-level plays, Naba finally accomplished his desire to see himself on the silver screen. He has acted as a junior actor in different roles in several Odia films. Among them the prominent ones are ‘Paka Kambal Pot Chhata’, ‘Maa Mote Shakti De’ and ‘Nagaphasha’. He even joined a couple of opera parties and enthralled audience with his acting talent.
How he became physically-challenged? Reminiscing about an incident Naba said, “At that time I was engaged with an opera party. One day the troupe was returning from Anandapur in Keonjhar district when our van met with an accident. I sustained serious fracture injuries on my leg and ribs. I have never recovered fully and since then I have been physically handicapped. But I have never let that bother me,” Naba states.
Naba has accepted his physical discomfiture as an act of god and has moved on with life. “Physical disability does not mean the purpose of life ends there. I have seen life in a different way, I have a purpose to live and so my physical problems do not bother me,” asserted the man.
This 69 year old Naba also describes how he has become a nature lover and has planted hundreds of trees so far. “If the nature suffers imbalance, it is the human race who will suffer. So it is better to be cautious and stop destroying forest indiscriminately,” Naba points out.
Since the last four years he has been staying at a hut, christened as ‘Swargpath’ considering his present lifestyle, near Maichhheli river. He first carried a plantation drive on the bank of the river, planting fruit bearing trees like mango, coconut, banana and lemon as well as some medicinal plants. He is also planting saplings at open spaces. Four to five village youths are assisting him in taking care of these trees. Whatever money he earns he gives it to these boys.
“Apart from devoting myself to preserving nature, I am also keen on preserving this ancient musical instrument,” he boasts showing towards his Kendara. Abstaining from non-vegetarian food and speaking sweet words are the mantras of peaceful life.
PNN