May 6 (Readers Digest) – Byapari was born in 1950 into a family of fisherfolk in the lush Barisal district (in today’s Bangladesh). As namashudras, the lowest rung of the Dalit people, his family had little to lose, but the derangement of Partition took their home as well. The Byaparis were herded into a truck, along with at least 30 other families, and transported to refugee camps in the badlands of West Bengal. Memories of that terrifying journey—being bumped around in the vehicle in the searing heat, the air clouded with red dust from the tracks, a baby being born en route and an old man dying on the truck—were burnt into the brain of the 4-year-old.
Ever since, his life has been a scramble for survival. As a teenager, he got sucked into the Naxal movement, channelling his rage towards armed struggle. Walking the thin line, he veered into a life of crime. In and out of prison, over the years, he worked in a crematorium, as a cook, a coolie and a rickshaw puller.
Today, Byapari travels around the country captivating audiences in literary forums everywhere. In the recent West Bengal State Assembly polls, he was elected from the Balagarh constituency as a member representing the Trinamool Congress, adding another feather to his cap.
At home, Byapari can be seen most often typing energetically into his laptop, his incandescent rage staying alive in defiance and courage. “From a person, I have become a subject. I want to take my story far and wide. Many, many people can get the energy to fight their battles, that way,” says the writer, warrior.
Read more on this remarkable story here – https://www.readersdigest.in/features/story-mightier-than-the-sword-a-look-at-manoranjan-byaparis-remarkable-life-124988
