Nata Mullick does not recall the names of all the 24 people he has hanged to death, but he has vivid memories of the “shrieks” they let out minutes before going to the gallows.

“Koi ro deta hai, to koi mera haath pakar leta hai. Mujhe bura to lagta hi hai, par kya kare (Some weep, others clutch my hands. I feel bad, but what can be done)?” Nata asks.

On August 21, 1991, Kartik Seal, one of a duo to dangle at the end of a long rope, had refused to be hanged and fought his warders “like a tiger”.

“I still remember Kartik blocking warders’ attempts to lead him away. I came in for the hanging several hours in advance. I could hear him refusing food and repeatedly crying that he did not deserve to die,” recounts Nata.

“The jailer was chatting with me but had to rush away towards Kartik’s cell,” Nata added.

On the other hand, Kartik’s mate, Sukumar Burman, scheduled to be hanged the same day, was extremely composed. “He had taken a bath and was getting ready on his own,” Nata recalls.

Meanwhile, all hell broke loose in Kartik’s cell. “He had managed to break a window grille and armed with the rod, started beating up everybody at hand,” Nata remembers.

In the scuffle, Kartik hit his head against the wall and blood oozed out of the gash on his forehead. Jail mates rushed out of their cells and helped the warders overpower him.

After some time, Nata Mullick made his way to the gallows and waited for Kartik and Sukumar to be led there. While Sukumar was walking along slowly, Kartik was shivering and had to be dragged by the warders.

One victim, Nata still recalls, had a bout of epilepsy when his hands were being tied. “He was splashed with water and after some time, hanged to death,” Nata says.

After so many decades, Nata still remembers Osman Mian, who worked with Nata as a drummer, when the hangman used to sing for a living on the streets of Park Circus.

“Nata bhaiya, mujhe bacha lo (Please save me),” was what Osman had said.

One of Nata Mullick’s victims had tried to bite his hands the moment Nata put the noose around his neck.

After jail officials had read out the charges and the convict was being brought to the platform, he glared at Nata.

“He was swearing at me for daring to kill him. This made me angry, but helped me complete the formalities much quicker,” Nata says.

There was one victim in 1962, Ramdeo Kurmi, who threw himself at Nata’s feet and begged to be released.

“I was going to tie his hands when he kneeled down and grabbed my feet, pleading to be saved. But, there was nothing I could do about that,” Nata explains.

As for Dhananjoy Chatterjee, Nata says: “Age is no bar. After all, it’s all in the mind.”