Always barefooted,he was a good samaritan and a friend.He was our
Bahri wallah,he was our dhobi .Highly energetic,with daddy long legs,he
swept,he mopped ,he sang and he danced.He was a tall,thin, frail looking,dhoti
jangiya clad Bihari with big eyes popping out of their sockets,prominent
cheek bones and a portruding collar bone.He had an oval face with
sunken cheeks.He was extremely lean,almost akin to a skeleton draped in
skin.
I miss him today,I remember the aloo parathas and the phulkas that he used to make for us.We had a mud chulha at home and Sudama Kamkar was the roti maker.Winters were fun,when we used to sit around the tandoor.He would make rotis/parathas/phulkas one by one and hand it out puchka wallah ishtyle...Sigh ! purano shei dhiner kotha....aar jeno phireyo paabo na.Shei juger kotha rup kotha holo !!!!!!...bochor paaliye gelo kinthu smaraniya aye ghatona gulo phirey phire aashey,chokher shamnaey....aar berolo moner kotha ,chokher jol dhiye.....(Translated...Sigh !Stories of the days gone by and time past that will never return have now become fairy tales.Years have flown by.Memorable incidents are repeatedly replayed in front of my eyes.Expressions of the heart now find their way through tears.
Grandma Kannamani had an aweful Hindi/bengali accent.She could never pronounce his name properly.Yeh ka naam hai thomara ?...Kormar ? Korima ? Kurimakar ?....she would blutter and we would howl with laughter.One fine day,the name Korima stuck to him.He was Korima to friends too.He belonged to Siwan dist,chapra zila.I recollect this fondly,because I used to write letters in Hindi, on post cards to his family members Radha Hamaar joruwa,Ganesh hamar bituwa and Kusum hamar bahuwa, on his behalf..
He was in Kolkata with us for nearly four decades and accompanied us on our vacations down south.His diet was staple sathhu...the sathhu aatta,so popular amongst the rickshaw wallahs.I vividly recall now, the rickshaw wallahs,huddling around a tube well or a Gonga spring,singing and enjoying the Satthu meal....Sattu parathas with curds and yummy achaar was a full meal.
Sattu atta is roasted gram flour and a popular wheat alternative amongst Biharis.Known for its several health benefits for all age groups,regular consumption of Sattu helps in being energetic and also improves stamina.A balanced diet,it is ideal for those involved in heavy work and also for those ,whose nature of job requires them to be seated for several hours.
This was Korima's secret for being fit and highly energetic.
Korima loved the Sattu parathas with Sapan ghee fried green chillis and aam ya lal mirach ka achaar.....I want it now !
I miss him today,I remember the aloo parathas and the phulkas that he used to make for us.We had a mud chulha at home and Sudama Kamkar was the roti maker.Winters were fun,when we used to sit around the tandoor.He would make rotis/parathas/phulkas one by one and hand it out puchka wallah ishtyle...Sigh ! purano shei dhiner kotha....aar jeno phireyo paabo na.Shei juger kotha rup kotha holo !!!!!!...bochor paaliye gelo kinthu smaraniya aye ghatona gulo phirey phire aashey,chokher shamnaey....aar berolo moner kotha ,chokher jol dhiye.....(Translated...Sigh !Stories of the days gone by and time past that will never return have now become fairy tales.Years have flown by.Memorable incidents are repeatedly replayed in front of my eyes.Expressions of the heart now find their way through tears.
Grandma Kannamani had an aweful Hindi/bengali accent.She could never pronounce his name properly.Yeh ka naam hai thomara ?...Kormar ? Korima ? Kurimakar ?....she would blutter and we would howl with laughter.One fine day,the name Korima stuck to him.He was Korima to friends too.He belonged to Siwan dist,chapra zila.I recollect this fondly,because I used to write letters in Hindi, on post cards to his family members Radha Hamaar joruwa,Ganesh hamar bituwa and Kusum hamar bahuwa, on his behalf..
He was in Kolkata with us for nearly four decades and accompanied us on our vacations down south.His diet was staple sathhu...the sathhu aatta,so popular amongst the rickshaw wallahs.I vividly recall now, the rickshaw wallahs,huddling around a tube well or a Gonga spring,singing and enjoying the Satthu meal....Sattu parathas with curds and yummy achaar was a full meal.
Sattu atta is roasted gram flour and a popular wheat alternative amongst Biharis.Known for its several health benefits for all age groups,regular consumption of Sattu helps in being energetic and also improves stamina.A balanced diet,it is ideal for those involved in heavy work and also for those ,whose nature of job requires them to be seated for several hours.
This was Korima's secret for being fit and highly energetic.
Korima loved the Sattu parathas with Sapan ghee fried green chillis and aam ya lal mirach ka achaar.....I want it now !
