Inspired by the revolutionary poems of Sachi Routray, “Baji” portrays the bravery and velour of a young boatman boy of Odisha, who became a martyr by the British tyranny.
The story dated back to the fateful night of the 10 October 1938. It was raining heavily, and the river Brahmani was overflowing with water. In that dreadful night, Baji Rout, a boatman boy was posted by the Praja Mandala (village revolutionary organisation), to keep watch over the riverbank and to see that the boat was not used by the British army.
In that dreadful night, a group of drunken police arrived on the bank after shooting at a peaceful crowd in the nearby village. They aroused Baji Rout from the sleep, pointed their guns towards his chest and ordered him to open the boat to carry them across the river. But Baji stood like a tower of strength and velour, screaming: “This boat belongs to the praja mandal. It can’t be let out to you, the enemy of the people.”
Drunk with power, the merciless policemen fired at him, and the pale-yellow body of Baji Rout fell flat on the ground with blood oozing out profusely from it. The praja mandal rushed at the scene with the gun sound. They fastened the rope of the boat tightly to their waists and stood firmly on the bank. But the police cut the ropes with knife and rowed the boat across the river. In the mid water, they again loaded their gun and fired at the silent crowd standing amazed on the bank. A few were killed and many wounded…
That dark solitary night in a still darker country marked the martyrdom of the young ‘Baji’ of our soil, whose crimson blood painted the inky black water into red.