The Short and The Tall

I first met Bhola and Balaram at a roadside circus show on the outskirts of Kolkata. Bhola was a dwarf just two feet tall always sporting a pleasant smile and endowed with a sense of bonhomie. He was the circus clown and it was his job to send the audience into splits with his antics. Balaram was the antithesis of Bhola. One rarely saw him smiling. He stood tall at over six and a half feet and was the star of the circus, adept at a variety of stunts. His grim countenance and brusque approach won him few friends. Most of his colleagues in the troupe always kept a safe distance from him.

Yet Bhola and Balaram were soul-mates. They had grown together in the circus and were inseparable. The one bond that had brought them closer was the fact that both of them were orphans and had virtually no relatives to fall back up on. They lead a nomadic life moving from place to place with their circus troupe and it was a hand to mouth existence. But they were never low on morale and when sorrows surfaced, the duo would quickly drown them with liquor.

When Bhola and Balaram stepped out of the confines of their tent and walked on the roadside they were the cynosure of all eyes. I always likened them to Tom Thumb and Gulliver, Bhola the midget and Balaram the giant, both different from each other yet sharing interests and an abiding friendship.

They were both film buffs. Bhola was a fan of Bruce Lee. Whenever we met, he would wax eloquent on the late Lee's martial art prowess and one of his acts which never failed to elicit ripples of laughter from his audience, was his talking on the strongman of the circus, Bheema. In true Lee fashion, Bhola would pummel Bheema top up, jumping into the air and swirling his arms and legs like a man possessed. Balaram was an avid fan of the once angry young man, Amitabh Bachchan. He possessed the same baritone voice and mannerisms and in between his stunts he would regale the crowds by reeling off dialogues from Deewar. This too was a big hit with the crowds that gathered to watch them perform.

I would spend quality time with both Bhola and Balaram; listening to their anecdotes, relishing Bhola's ready wit and Balaram's deep insight into philosophy. I left them with a heavy heart when my parents transferred out of Kolkata. For a full year I corresponded with both Bhola and Balaram. Suddenly their letters stopped. Perhaps they had left the circus, I thought. The other day on returning to Kolkata, I learnt the sad news that both my friends had met with a ghastly end in a road accident. They had gone for a walk in the night and some drunken truck driver had run over them killing them on the spot. I grieved a lot for those two innocent souls who had played their roles in life with elan.