Known fondly to his villagers as “bike ambulance dada”, Karimul Hak, the man who has saved thousands of lives with his idea of motorbike ambulance, making immediate healthcare available to villagers during an emergency by ferrying them on his motorbike, has won the hearts and respect of not only his countrymen, but also people abroad for his sheer desire “to serve mankind”.

In 2017, he was bestowed with one of the highest civilian awards of our country, the Padma Shri. Inspired by his life, former journalist and debut author Biswajit Jha authored Bike Ambulance Dada (Penguin; Rs 199) that released this January. On January 29, Starmark Bookstores from its Facebook page hosted a live session with bike dada Karimul Hak and author Biswajit Jha in conversation with Mridula Gupta.

Jha opened the discussion by sharing Hak’s journey of being a tea garden labourer with a minimum salary to a man who is selflessly serving people despite several hardships. Karimul Hak had no idea that a book was being written on him when he met Jha who visited him at odd hours to witness his work when they met initially. Karimul was serving injured players at a football match for free when they both first met. The humble man believes books are only written about great personalities and his work is to only serve people by taking them to the hospital. It was only after writing the entire book that Jha read out the story to him in Bengali and Hak was overjoyed, the cover of the book got him and his wife delighted as much as it was unbelievable for them. He has only one mission in life: to serve mankind. To him, there is no bigger religion than that. After the tragic loss of his mother’s life for not being able to make healthcare available at the right time, Karimul promised that he wouldn’t let that happen to any other person. Thus, started his encouraging story of getting a two-wheeler and converting it into an ambulance for villagers. Karimul believes that his story should make the youth realise the importance of being of service to the country and their own parents.

The man who has served nearly 6,500 people till now carries the teachings of Swami Vivekananda, Mother Teresa, Kazi Nazrul Islam and Rabindranath in his heart.

“All great people wrote down how we must live… we have to leave behind a history for the youth,” he said.

When Jha left journalism, the writing was still a hobby for him. So, he thought of writing a book and came across Karimul’s story through newspaper reports and met him through a friend. “Karimul’s story and writing this book changed my life. I thought I should share it with people as it would get everyone motivated. That way, I would be able to serve society too, I thought. Knowing him closely was also an experience, it is a life lesson for me. Whenever I am afraid to undertake any journey, I recall his,” said Jha.

Even after being honoured by the greatest awards from all over the world, Karimul’s down-to-earth personality is as inspiring as his journey. When Mridula asked him if awards would mean more responsibility for him, Karimul promptly answered, “There are so many awards in our house that I don’t even have a place to keep it. But these awards are not mine, it is for the village people and the country. I wish to stay the same Karimul and continue my work.” Jha added, “After having such achievements, he is still so humble. I also want to learn this humility from him. Achievement means nothing if your near ones feel let down. Karimul’s life teaches us that you can achieve anything if you have the perseverance to follow your dream.”

With the increasing demand for his service, Karimul’s son and wife have also joined him. But his journey is not devoid of challenges. From the youth refusing to give a hand as no money is involved to the lack of good roads and bridges in his locality to take patients easily and in time to the hospital — the challenges are numerous.

“There are times when people might say I have not helped them because maybe I am on the road with another person going to the hospital and had no other helping hand. Such shortcomings happen. But Rabindranath said ‘Jodi tor daak shuney keu na ashey tobey ekla cholo re’ and I remember that,” said Karimul. “Despite having so many problems in his life Karimul is the happiest person I have ever met. Serving others is the way to happiness. My second book, which is fiction, will also dwell on this — when you serve people you become happy,” concluded Jha.