Khammi
Ruiton para is a Murong village located at Matamuhori, Bandarban. The landscape from there is something! Khammi is the grandson of ‘Karbari’. Karbari means village leader. Generally, they name their villages after their leader. When Ruiton Da will die, his son is going to become the Karbari of their village and if he wants, he can rename that village after his name. Our plan was to set camp beside that village for a few days and explore the surroundings. My teammate Apu and me came here a few years back. We knew the karbari. They invited us to stay at their house. Also, they used to cook for us too. As we can eat their food, it was an absolute haven for us after 8 days of trekking, cooking, and camping. We stayed at their home for 4 days.
Khammi was a very timid boy. He did not come before us when we arrived at their village on the first day. He used to look at us from a distance and smile. And whenever we made eye contact with him, he ran away! But on the second day, we became friends. He was in class 3 back then. There was a school 30 min away from their village. In English ‘Sun Bear School’ is run by some NGOs. It is the only school connecting 4/5 villages.
I took those photos the day before we left his house. On that day, two of our tripmates went to Matamuhuri river to catch a boat for home. My teammate Apu and I stayed there. We wanted to visit another village which is one day away from that village. At noon, after our lunch, I was exploring the village. I saw them playing ‘Kit Kit’. They asked me to play with them. After a match, I asked them for a photograph. Before that Khammi would run away if I point my camera at him. But that time he pointed to a tree and started climbing it. At that moment I knew, I got permission. I took those photos.
That night Apu gifted Khammi a small charger light. His expression was something. From now, he owns a charger light. That's a big thing to him! No one can buy that smile or expression with money. The next morning, maybe at 5, I saw him playing with that light. Maybe, he did not sleep well last night because of that light. Now he owns a light, he can't wait to show it to his Khammi’s.
23rd September 2021
Ruiton Para
Matamuhuri Reserved Forest
Bandarbun
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