He’s a Charlie Chaplin impersonator, pretty good at his job, but that’s not Raju’s only claim to fame. He grew up in poverty, never went to school and yet, today he has been all over — from Tanzania to Dubai, with his Charlie Chaplin act. This isn’t his biggest claim to fame either. For me, when I met Raju, what seemed most extraordinary was his assertion that he’d grown up in the lap of a saint.
Raju is from Kolkata, and was born in extreme poverty. “I struggled with deprivation and even starvation as a child,” said Raju, “I worked in all sorts of odd jobs until I was 13, just to try and bring some money into the household.” However, the pitiful money that Raju and his two brothers earned was never enough to make ends meet: “We believed that our hope for salvation lay in better jobs, else we’d starve,” he recounted soberly.
But salvation for the young Raju came in the garb of a nun, a simple woman, in a white sari with a blue border. “It was none other than Mother Teresa,” said Raju, “Her gaze fell upon me, as my house was not far from where she lived.” The Missionaries of Charity often fed him, and asked him to come across whenever he wanted. “Once when I went there, the inmates were watching a film which a foreign volunteer had left behind. It was about a funny little man who was poor and sad, and yet he made people laugh,” said Raju, “and my love for Charlie Chaplin was born.”
That day on, the teenager watched every Chaplin film he could lay his hands on. Soon, he was doing passable impersonations of Chaplin. “My father was really annoyed with my strange interests,” said he, “for by now, one of my brothers had become a tailor, and the other had a job in a tannery.” Whenever he’d see his young son copy the famous actor, he’d tell him to pursue an interest that would earn him some money. “The sisters actually persuaded my father to let me continue with my Chaplin impersonations,” Raju smiled, “for they believed that something that made people smile and forget the misery of their existence, could only be a good thing!”
But Raju could feel that he’d need to hone his act further if he hoped to actually make money from it. “I wanted to do more than just entertain friends and family!” said he. Keeping in mind the fact that Chaplin’s films were all black and white, the canny teenager painted his face white, tinting his trademark Chaplin moustache black. The results were much better than before. The sisters helped him get his debut assignment at a plush store on Park Street, and Raju was set.
“Soon I received an offer to work on a temporary assignment in Delhi, and having seen the response to my performance, I stayed on,” said Raju. Gigs at restaurants, fairs and stores poured in, including his first foreign assignment in Dubai. “Today, I charge Rs 1,500 to 2,000 for a performance, and am booked every day of the week. I’ve now bought a Rs 10,00,000 apartment, and also send money home,” said he proudly. The only time he regrets his lack of education is when he has to ask for help filling in forms at immigration counters in at airports…
Life’s turned out to be a fairy tale for Raju, but he hasn’t lost sight of the person who gently steered him in this direction. “Although I’m Muslim, I pray in church every Sunday for Mother Teresa, for she’s changed my fortune,” said he, “I feel I’ve been touched by an angel!”