Marathon prodigy Buddia Singh’s coach and mentor, Biranchi Das was shot dead today in Bhubaneswar.
Lately, Biranchi Das had been in the midst of controversies and even had to go to the jail on charges of exploitation and torture. Buddhia Singh was just one of the millions kids born every day in poverty stricken slums. It is quite likely that like everyone else Buddhia would have grown up without education and training of any sort, by the time he was able to walk he would have been employed in a roadside dhaba, a tea-stall or would have been picking rags. If he were really lucky he would have been hired as a domestic help in contravention of existing laws.
However, none of this happened because Buddhia’s mother tried to sell him for a paltry sum of money and it was judo coach Biranchi Das who paid the money and adopted Buddhia. It was under Biranchi’s tutelage that Buddhia’s talent was discovered and honed. Well, I don’t really know what exactly was the equation between the coach and the pupil but surely Buddhia couldn’t have been a marathon runner without any training.
Anyway, Buddhia did become a star overnight and so did his coach and foster-father, Biranchi Das. The coach created an icon out of his pupil, the pupil in turn made a hero out of his mentor. But fame and success do not come without a price. As Buddhia became a house-hold name, his mother was back to claim parentage of the same kid she had sold for a meagre amount. Not wanting to be denied their share of fame through the media, the Women and Child Welfare ministry threw its lot in accusing Biranchi Das of exploiting the child prodigy for personal gains. Biranchi was still embroiled in legal battle when Buddhia Singh and his mother accused Biranchi of having tortured him. This accusation may have been politically motivated, since before the controversy Buddhia had always maintained that he was being treated well. In fact Buddhia had always shown his fondness of Biranchi on camera.
Anyway, the ministry was determined to separate the coach and the pupil and they eventually managed to citing health reasons. Even if the minister was correct in saying that marathon at this age would have adverse effect on the child’s health, one is tempted to ask what the ministry has been doing for thousands of Buddhia scourging dust bins and dump yards to make a living.
