Day breaks in Koraput bus terminal with calls for Krushna Kuldeep, the Bahubali coolie without whom the hustle bustle of the terminal does not quite seem normal.
Kuldeep, who happens to be a body builder, has won many competitions including Mr Koraput.
He can lift two-wheelers onto buses. He is among a very few who can do such heavy lifting effortlessly. So the demand for Kuldeep’s service is quite high.
A resident of southern Odisha town of Koraput, Kuldeep makes good use of his physical strength to do the heavy-lifting required for the job of a coolie.
He not only carries luggage and heavy gurney bags of passengers, he also lifts motorbikes and scooters onto the roofs of buses.
"He is an expert in lifting bikes onto bus roof. He never says no to any passenger who wishes to get two-wheelers lifted onto the bus roof. His shoulders are really powerful," said Man Nag, another coolie and Kuldeep’s friend.
“Though I feel the pressure on my body and the job involves risk, I am helpless. I have to do the heavy-lifting to earn a living,” said Kuldeep.
Kuldeep is married and is a father of two sons and a daughter. Sita Kuldeep, his daughter is particularly proud of his father. Speaking to OTV, she said, “I doubt if anybody has struggled harder than my father to ensure a decent life for us. Though my father has not studied more than us, he knows way more than us to make us good human beings. I am proud of him.”
Kuldeep dreamt of being a body builder since he was a child. He joined gymnasiums and trained hard to win many bodybuilding competitions in the district. However, his dreams of participating in the National level competitions were shattered after the death of his father who was a coolie as well.
Following on his father’s footsteps, Kuldeep adopted the same profession as well. But his passion for body building stayed with him. He trained at home and made use of his strength to create a niche for his skills.
“If given scope, I am capable enough to win State level body building competitions. I can even train others too,” said Kuldeep.
(Reported By Suryanarayan Panda, OTV)