This blog post belongs to the “My Memoirs” series. In this series, I have already introduced you to three weirdly amusing characters from my childhood days. Here, I am going to acquaint you with another memorable personality.

Mr. Naanngoo

He was indeed a fantastic character! I do not know what his real name was. Even no one knew, at least amongst the younger generation. The assumed name or sobriquet had virtually overshadowed the actual name (if there was any). I don’t know what the word Naanngoo means, but it sounds pretty bizarre. 

He was really strange in his appearance, but appearances are said to be deceptive, so I had better not discuss his appearance. Anyway, he was believed to be an inveterate liar. He always had an inexhaustible pack of lies at his disposal. He had plentiful supplies of false stories in his ammunition. Every time he would come up with a brand-new story. He would never repeat an old story. He had an uncanny capacity to invent stories. 

He was an expert at fibbing. No matter what the occasion was, he would never hesitate telling fibs. And his glib tongue immediately attracted the audience. But strangely, he used to attribute every piece of information, whether true or false, to BBC radio. 

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Once, while Mr. Naanngoo visited our house to offer Fateh (prayers) for our late grandfather, he could not resist the usual temptation of breaking baseless news and thus spoke to the elders sitting there, “Chaudhry sahib! I have a stunning piece of information to share with you. According to BBC radio, a carpeted road approximately 72 feet wide is going to be constructed on both sides of the drain/nullah. A survey to this effect has already been conducted, and the work is supposed to begin soon.”

This news stunned everyone sitting there. They could not believe their ears. It was perhaps the biggest lie he had ever told, and no one could digest it. “What the hell a 72 feet wide double road had to do with a small village,” they thought. The village was not linked to any highway or GT road. There was not even any cantonment in its vicinity. 

Even if a survey had been conducted as disclosed by Naanngoo, why no other individual was aware of it? And more surprisingly, what the BBC radio had been doing in our village. It was not such a famous village to attract the attention of even the local media, let alone the international media. Nothing unusual had ever happened there. Nor was it the birthplace of any celebrity. So the presence of the BBC in the village was second to impossible. 

But who could dare challenge Naanngoo’s statements? Because he had never backtracked his statements. Whether or not anyone believed him, he would stick to his point. Such a strange fellow he was! Indeed, he was unique, like his name. Such characters are rarely to be found in big towns and cities.

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