Hermit at the foot of Pu Huot mountain

(Baonghean.vn) -Not far from Pu Huot mountain in Binh Chuan commune, Con Cuong district, is the home of La Van Bo's family - a "blind artist" who can play the guitar and sing Thai ethnic music very well.

Mr. La Van Bo is sitting playing the guitar next to his family's small hut in the middle of the forest. Photo: Ho Phuong

Once when coming to Binh Chuan commune, Mr. Nguyen Van Manh - Chairman of Binh Chuan commune boasted: "In addition to the increasingly prosperous life of the villagers, there is currently a multi-talented artist living in seclusion in the mountains in the commune". His introduction made us cross the forest to visit La Van Bo's family in Na Co village.

His family’s home is a hut in the middle of the forest at the foot of Pu Huot Mountain. The simple stilt house has been built for many years, with a roof full of holes and palm leaves that have turned dark black over time.

Inside the house, his wife Luong Thi Hien (born in 1975) and their son La Dinh Hop (born in 2013) were sitting by the fire cooking dinner. La Van Bo was sitting on the floor fixing a worn-out basket with a loose rim for his wife.

At the age of 15, Anh Bo could play the guitar proficiently. Photo: Ho Phuong

Seeing the appearance of a stranger visiting, Mr. Bo greeted us and did not hesitate to fumble for the guitar hanging on the bedside beam and bring it out to play for us.

After playing for us for a while, Mr. Bo hugged his guitar, which was too old for his son, and slowly told us about his difficult past.

Mr. Bo was born into a poor family of 5 children. Early one morning when he was 12 years old, in 5th grade, his face suddenly became swollen, his head, forehead and eyes were swollen, his vision gradually blurred. His family was worried and took him to the hospital for examination and treatment.

After 3 treatments, his face was less swollen but his eyes were getting blurry, his left eye could barely see anything anymore. His right eye could still see but not clearly. Due to his family's circumstances, he has not gone for treatment since then. And his love affair with letters has been broken since then.

The guitar has been with Mr. Bo for nearly 20 years. Photo: Ho Phuong

After dropping out of school, he returned home to do small household chores such as raising chickens and buffaloes to help his poor parents. From then on, as time passed, he grew up and became familiar with the garden and the rice fields.

When he was 15 years old, while visiting his neighbor's house, he heard the music of a carpenter who came from the lowlands to build a house. After listening, he felt interested in the music. From then on, despite his poor eyesight, he used a cane to go to his neighbor's house to listen to the carpenter's music. Seeing the weak, poor-sighted boy peeking out of the fence every night to listen to his music, the carpenter took Bo in and taught Bo how to play the music.

Every night, when the family had not finished dinner, Bo would leave his bowl and go to the carpenter’s house to learn the guitar. After only 2 months, Bo had memorized all the notes on the guitar. From then on, Bo’s guitar playing began to become smoother.

Mr. Lo Van Giap, former Chief of Na Co village, recalled: “Back then, Bo’s guitar playing became a phenomenon in the village and the commune. From children to the elderly, everyone enjoyed listening to Bo play and sing. Every wedding in the village invited Bo to play and sing for them to listen to.”

Mr. Bo's guitar sound suddenly echoed far and wide to other villages. Many people came to listen, recorded videos, and posted them on Youtube, where they have had hundreds of thousands of views.

The small hut in the middle of the forest of La Van Bo's family. Photo: Ho Phuong

In 2001, while going to a funeral, thanks to the sound of the guitar, he met Ms. Luong Thi Hien. Although her body was quite weak and she was disabled, her clear guitar playing, clear voice, and gentle and hard-working nature made the beauty from Chau Ly and Quy Hop respect her and fall in love with Bo.

Up to now, he has a happy family with a wife and a healthy son. Every day, Mr. Bo goes to herd cows and collect vegetables to feed pigs. Ms. Hien goes to the forest to pick bamboo shoots, and on days, she goes to the fields to plow. "Although life is hard, I am still happy with my current life. I hope that my son will have a more prosperous life than I do now," Mr. Bo shared.

Ho Phuong