Sitting on his chair, 52-year-old Md. Hatem Ali turns the handle of a "wooden crane" he built himself. A plate-like vessel hanging from the crane delivers tea and other goods from one end of the shop to the customer at the other end. Because of this, Hatem does not have to repeatedly leave his seat to hand items over to customers. Customers themselves have named this special device created by him a "crane."
Hatem Ali’s shop is located in the Barha Board Bazar adjacent to the Zaria Union Parishad along the Shyamganj-Birishiri road in Purbadhala Upazila, Netrokona. He built this special device himself using wood, wire, and bearings. He claims that it cost him about Tk 5,500 to make.
Hatem Ali's primary profession is carpentry. He is a resident of Barha Uttarpara village. He studied up to the fifth grade at a local primary school. Alongside carpentry work, he has also been running a tea stall for about three decades.
Hatem Ali said, "Nowadays, workers are hard to find. Even if I kept an employee, it would cost around Tk 20,000 per month including salary and meals. So, I thought of arranging something myself. Later, I built the crane. Now, sitting on my chair, I can turn the handle and deliver tea and other goods to customers inside and outside the shop."
This is not the first time Hatem Ali has done innovative work. He stated that about 30 years ago, he built a special kind of vehicle using bearings to transport goods on railway tracks. He can also create human figures out of wood.
On Monday afternoon, visiting Hatem Ali's shop, 10 to 12 customers were seen sitting on the benches and chairs of the shop. Meanwhile, Hatem Ali prepared tea, placed the cups on a steel plate hanging from the crane, and turned the handle. Within a few seconds, the cups reached the customers. Not just tea, but betel leaves, cigarettes, biscuits, and money are also exchanged this way.
Kuddus Mia, a resident of Tutirpara village who came to have tea and betel leaves, said, "Hatem Ali always tries to do something exceptional. Various things made by him have created a buzz in the area before as well."
Md. Abdul Malek, a resident of Barha village, said that Hatem Ali is known to the people of the area for such works. Many people come to his shop to have tea.
According to local people, Hatem Ali likes to do exceptional things. If he receives patronage, he will be able to do even better things.
Aminul Islam, Chairman of the local Zaria Union Parishad, said, "Hatem Ali is a creative person. Not just this, he has made various exceptional items before as well."
— Daily Best News Desk • Fearless in the search for truth
Reported by Sakhawat Hossain, Netrokona • Edited by the Daily Best News desk. Send corrections to [email protected].
