78yearold drummer braved Gorkhaland struggle to continue ‘puja duty’
TINDHARIA:As an individual, 78-year-old Kohor Singha must be one of the loudest ‘voices’ against Gorkhaland.
A resident of Jalpaiguri, Singha braved the agitation and indefinite shutdown to travel more than 50km to Tindharia in the Hills to beat the drums — popularly referred to as dhaks in Bengal — during Durga puja.
Singha, a farmer, who has been beating the drums for this community puja in the Hills for the 59th year without a break, says he would have performed his duty even if the strike was not called off from the morning of September 27, the second day of Durga puja.
The Durga and Kali Puja Organisation Committee is in its 96th year, and Singha has vowed to continue performing his ‘duty’ at least until the centenary year, come what may.
“I have seen three rounds of Gorkhaland movement, the most violent being the one in the mid 1980s in which hundreds lost their lives. The latest one broke all records with 104 days of strike. If the Tindharia youth could organise puja despite the odds, I am sure no power can prevent my participation,” he told HT.
A dhak is heavy and drummers are asked to carry it on their shoulder for at least 30 minutes at a stretch, several times a day, five days on the trot. This year, on September 21, he begged for a ride uphill until he managed a drop to Tindharia to speak to the organisers about his duty during the pujas. He was back in the Hills to beat the drum for Kali puja on Thursday.
“Durga and Kali puja have become a part of my life. I would perform my duty here till I breathe my last. No agitation can prevent me from this duty,” said Singha.
Fondly called ‘Kaku’,Singha has never missed the puja since then. This year, he was the only drummer performing at the puja. For his duty, the organisers paid him ₹3,300. “We were surprised when ailing Kaku reached Tindharia on his own. He managed to reach though only few vehicles were plying,” said Nauraj Chettri, committee secretary.