FATEHGARHSAHIB: Balwant Singh is a walking encyclopedia who has beaten the computers in the age of microchip. What is more amazing about him is that he is uneducated, has simple habits and is very quiet, but this man of few words is known in Mandi Gobind Garh town of Fatehgarh district in Punjab as a ready reckoner in flesh and blood. Ash him about the days and dates of any festival be it amavasya, or puranmashi or just about any other and he provides instant information, often accompanied by a lively backgrounder. Not only that, Balwant, now in his 70s, also tells the time with clockwork precision not by looking at a watch, but by merely casting an expert eye al the sun.
Clad in khaki kuntapyjama, a loosely tied turban with a sash tied tightly around his midriff, he can be seen aimlessly wandering about the Government Senior Secondary School where he was employed as a peon for many years before retiring. Blessed with a powerful recall, he says, he knew by heart the names and addresses of all students of the school.
Since his retirement, Balwant is living on the paltry Rs 80a month that the government gives him as pension, and the generosity of a relative. Perhaps, it is the drudgery of a miserable, solitary existence that has silenced him or, perhaps, he is plenteously provided for from within to need anything: from without.
He expresses no pity for anyone nor does he expect any. All’s well for Balwant. Theck hai beere (I’m alright, brother), is all that he always says when people greet him.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 12, 1993
