Video Editor: Vivek Gupta
While Dalbir Singh, the beloved Ravana performer from Amritsar’s Joda Phatak, stood in awe of the effigy being burnt infront of him, he was sucked under the wheels of an unforgiving train that took the life of him and 60 others.
Barely 24 hours before he died he had received a standing ovation for his performance in the local Ramleela.
He has been credited with saving the lives of many people. Banwari, who was a witness to Dalbir running between the tracks frantically, told The Quint, “Dalbir was running between the lines and told everyone present to step back, that the train is going to come and then that the train is coming. The train came at such a high speed that everyone got scattered and Dalbir lost his life. But he saved so many people before he died.”
“Kala divas hain ye humaare liye (This is a black festival for us),” multiple people who have lost friends, family and acquaintances in the Amritsar train accident on 19 October told The Quint.
Among them is Dalbir’s mother Swaran Kaur, frail and tired, who intermittently breaks into tears. “Look at her.... Her name is Pari,” she points this reporter towards Dalbir’s eight-month-old child. “Who will tell her what happened to her father when she grows up?” she asks before hugging a neighbour and bursting into tears again.
- 01/02Neighbours and friends have been pouring in to meet Swaran Kaur, (in black in the middle) since the moment the news of Dalbir dying spread.(Photo: Aishwarya S Iyer/The Quint)
- 02/02This is a time of mourning not only for her, but for all the people as they have all lost someone they knew in the horrific train accident.(Photo: Aishwarya S Iyer/The Quint)
Pari is sitting in the lap of her mother, Navpreet Kaur, to the right of the room. Swaran talking about Pari’s well-being makes Navpreet’s eyes well up. However, the 21-year-old contains her emotions and holds onto Pari closely.
Navpreet and Dalbir got married less than two years ago, with their second year anniversary coming up in December. “Dalbir said his friends were calling him so he was going down to see the Dusshera celebrations. I said alright,” she said, recounting the last brief conversation they had.
Dalbir, better known as Guggi, was on his way to get an award for his performance as Ravana at the Ramleela on 18 October. Showing this reporter a photograph from right before the performance, Swaran said, “Guggi... my son... used to wait for this time of the year. He used to look forward to the play practices.”
“The family is going to particularly miss him during this time of the year as this was one of his favorite festivals,” his elder brother Balbir said with a glimpse of a smile.
He used to go around collecting funds for the performances, encouraging people to come together and perform and keeping spirits up. “He really wanted to take these kinds of initiatives,” Balbir said.
When asked if the locals will organise the Ramleela next year Balbir was unsure. “Our team will think about it. The opinions of people will be sought but it is very possible that we completely stop celebrating,” he told The Quint.
The gali (street) where Guggi lived is bustling with some people going to pick up bodies for cremation and others visiting the injured at the hospital. Every street in the area has lost someone. The mood is sombre. “We do not want to celebrate Dussehra anymore,” several of them told The Quint,
Dalbir’s neighbour 37-year-old Vishal Anand elaborated more on why this view had taken hold: “Guggi was a good guy who helped everyone. What has happened here is a big thing that we are going to take a lot of time to cope with. So many people have lost their loved ones and so many are still in search of their dead bodies. One thing is clear, Dussehra will not be celebrated here anymore.”
Guggi’s body is taken to Shaheeda Sahib with Balbir leading the cremation. He cannot hold his tears back. After clearing up the paper work, he struggles to regain his composure, telling this reporter, “How can we deal with this on our own? The government has to help us. We would like them to give his wife a government job so she can support herself and Pari.”
Even as the wounds of this festive season will take time to heal, Balbir and his family look back uncomfortably at the thought of him playing Ravana. “I thought there is no harm in acting as Ravana, but little did I know that after essaying his role he would end up dying,” he said.
While Joda Phatak mourns the loss of its loved ones, Ramleela will never be the same here again. With the passing of Dalbir, the locals have not just lost their star performer, their Ravana, but also their Guggi, the person responsible for bringing everyone together.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)