Pedalling circles round the rest

Over the five days, Mitra conducted a one-man variety show performing several tricks as he wheeled his bicycle. His teeth clenched at the crossbar of another bicycle and he cycled around the ground while holding the bicycle in his mouth. His other performances included breaking a two quintal stone on his chest, breaking 10 tubelights on his body, bathing with 50 buckets of water, picking up a needle with his eye, cycling over 50 children without hurting them an inch and pulling a bus by a cycle.

The grand finale, however, was his two-hour-long samadhi underground. Mitra buried himself inside a pit covered by heaps of mud for two hours and come out unscathed. 8220;He has never felt suffocated. He8217;s a devotee of Goddess Kali; she vouches for his well-being,8221; explains Maya.

Hailing from Dum Dum, Calcutta, Mitra has presently moved base to Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Over the past 32 years, he has performed for leading companies such as KRIBHCO Surat, GEB Ukai, IPCL and now ONGC. His personal achievement has been a nine-day-and-night-long non-stop cycling performance in MP. At least once in every two months, the couple sets out to approach company heads themselves carrying along fileload of certificates, appraisals and newspaper clippings besides a photo album demonstrating Mitra8217;s feats.

The earnings are inconsistent. 8220;This show has no ticket, so the spectator decides the performance8217;s worth. Some merely come, watch and go away, others dole out change while the eager ones give a magnanimous amount. It all depends on their will,8221; said Maya.

Mitra8217;s performance concluded on Friday. After resting for a couple of days he8217;ll head homeward. A month later, he8217;ll seek out another sponsor and patiently wait for his life to come a full circle.