Me To Hamal

Bhalwani, the birthplace of Appa Korpe, is a village situated in the drought-prone region between Jamkhed and Ashti. Born around 1936, his full name was Madhukar Gahinath Korpe.

His father married at the age of thirty-five through an exchange marriage arrangement with a twelve-year-old girl. The family lived in extreme poverty and depended entirely on the meagre wages earned by his father. With five mouths to feed, hunger and hardship were constant companions.

Appa witnessed some deeply painful experiences during his childhood: his mother attempting to drown her children because of unbearable hunger; the loss of two siblings; and the suffering and eventual death of his father, whose life had been worn down by poverty. To secure food for herself and her son, his mother married another man with her son’s consent. Later, while she was still recovering after childbirth, she left one of her children behind. That child, too, eventually passed away.

Left to face life alone, Appa displayed remarkable courage and determination. He worked at various jobs—as a cattle herder, a grocery shopkeeper, a tea stall owner at the ST bus stand, and even as a well-digger. Eventually, he moved to Ahmednagar and began working as a porter.

In his autobiography, “Mi To Hamal” (मी तो हमाल), Appa Korpe narrates how, through sheer determination, hard work and honesty, he rose from a life of extreme hardship to become the Vice-President of the Maharashtra State Hamal Mapadi Mahamandal. His life story is a moving account of struggle, resilience and the strength of the human spirit.