‘I don’t want you to recall my face’

That single photograph of a face and folded hands told the story of the Gujarat riots. But Kutubuddin Ansari today believes his face has bec...

That single photograph of a face and folded hands told the story of the Gujarat riots. But Kutubuddin Ansari today believes his face has become his enemy.

A day after West Bengal minister Mohammed Salim said Kolkata would be Ansari’s new home, the man appeared at the Mumbai Press Club. Quite clearly, in search of a lost identity: ‘‘I have been trying put my life back in order since the time that photograph appeared. But someone, somewhere identifies me and then my employers ask me to leave.’’ This happened in Ahmedabad, this happened in Malegaon.

‘‘In Ahmedabad, everywhere I went, someone or the other would recognise me. May be they wanted to sympathise, may be not. I didn’t want to wait and find out.’’

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So he moved to Malegaon and remained incognito. He was simply ‘Ansari tailor,’ working in a garment unit. But then a local newspaper spotted him and his face returned to haunt him. ‘‘I want to stay in a place where no one recognises me.’’

He will soon be leaving for Kolkata.

In the hope his past doesn’t catch up with him again. Ansari says he has not yet decided when exactly will he make the move. He’s also not sure if he will be able to find a job there. ‘‘One day I will return to Gujarat, because that’s where my roots are.’’

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