He says he is 113 years old, he lives alone, he came to India fleeing conflict, and for the past 60 years, has been making and selling candies for a living. He is Mohammed Abusali, popularly known as ‘Mittai Thatha’.
Originally from Myanmar, Abusali lives in a rented tenement smaller than 10×10 ft in Aadakaratheru, in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu. The place has a table fan, a trunk, a couple of plastic boxes and bottles. There is an almirah, with some old, torn bags and a couple of silver vessels. Outside his place, a plastic cover is left hanging with a couple of newspaper cuttings inside it.
Abusali is full of energy — he still walks kilometers to sell his products, and says one should work hard to achieve anything in life.