Kashi Mukhiya brews tea at his cousin’s stall near Muchipara police station. Picture by Anindya Shankar Ray

I am just a poor boy and my story’s seldom told...

— The Boxer,

Simon and Garfunkel, 1969.

A young pavement-dweller who earns a living working in a tea stall has taken adversity on the chin to become one of Bengal’s most promising boxers in just five years since slipping on the gloves.

As Kashi Mukhiya, 20, serves tea at his cousin Govind’s stall in front of Muchipara police station, it is hard to imagine the boy-man knocking the daylights out of a person twice his size. But that’s precisely what he does, with a passion.

Weighing under 55kg, Kashi subsists on a spartan diet of rice and vegetables with bananas as the main source of fibre and energy. Eggs are only an “occasional luxury”. But put him in the ring and Kashi can pack quite a punch.

A silver and a bronze in the Bengal Olympic Association’s State Games in 2008 and 2009, silver in the Bengal Amateur Boxing Championship, and a bronze medal in the North-East Zone Boxing Association junior championship are testimony to the Darbhanga-born lad’s talent.

“I have a long way to go. But I need support,” Kashi, who has been allowed to train in the armed police ring at Bodyguard Lines in Alipore, told Metro.

Kashi came to Calcutta 10 years ago, when his widowed mother told him that she couldn’t afford to send him to school. He would have ended up like most streetchildren had boxing not floored him at first sight.

“I used to wash utensils in the canteen of the School of Physical Culture at Raja Subodh Mullick Square and watch boys learn boxing. I felt that I could fight like them,” he recalled.

Seeing his enthusiasm the club authorities offered Kashi a chance to join the trainees, and he hasn’t stopped sparring since.

Kashi got another break recently when officers of Muchipara police station heard about his boxing achievements.

“He is a talented young man who needs nurturing. We are trying to absorb him in the green police wing,” said Subrata Dey, an officer of Muchipara police station.

Kashi served as a volunteer for Friends of Calcutta, a police initiative, during the four days of Puja and earned Rs 1,000.

But he needs more money not only to continue training but also to nourish his body to be ring-fit.

“It’s not easy being a champion boxer from the position I am in, but I am not throwing in the towel yet. I want to be counted among the best,” said Kashi.

ttmetro@abpmail.com