The missing Haarlem rose man, better known as Johnny Polaroid, is justified. Udaiyan Barua Ripon, as his real name is, lives with his wife and newborn daughter in Azerro, Italy. He has abandoned his rose bushes and Polaroid camera: he now works as a jewelry maker and is doing very well. But that has also been different.
For years Johnny Polaroid went from bar to bar to capture visitors to Haarlem’s nightlife in Polaroid photos. They could also buy a rose from him. He grew into a welcome guest and some visitors had themselves captured dozens of times. But after the corona crisis, he disappeared from the picture and many wondered: where is Johnny?
Quest
After the appearance of the report that NH Nieuws made last week about the missing Haarlem rose and Polaroid man, messages came in from various sides from people who knew where he was. One of them was the owner of café Stiels, Joost van Rijmenam, who has known several generations of rose men and is a Facebook friend with the rose man who was wanted.
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Roseman found – NH Nieuws
After the conversation with Van Rijmenam, it did not take long until contact was made via Facebook with Udaiyan Barua Ripon, abbreviated Ripon. He accepted the friend request and there appeared the smiling profile picture of the man we had been looking for.
“During corona I was helpless because I no longer had an income”
He answers the questions in English and writes that he will use it during the corona pandemic to have had a hard time in Haarlem.
“I’m doing well now. But during corona I was helpless because I had no income and my wife was pregnant. When she was 39 weeks pregnant, we left for Italy. I had the right documents there to stay permanently” Ripon responds.
account
Before Ripon left for Italy with his wife, he received an invoice for hospital visits here in the Netherlands. “Because I didn’t have a BIC code, I had to pay thousands of euros to the hospital for the hospital checks. In addition, my mother died during corona, but I came to Italy in May 2020 and we survived.”
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Not much later, on July 3, his daughter was born. Which he is very happy with. “Her name is Purnota Sushma Barua. And everything is going a lot better now. I stay with my family in Azerro. I no longer sell roses, but work in a factory and make ornaments. I really like that the people in Haarlem still have me remember. Thanks!”
“Maybe I could have helped him”
Sander Klinkenber is a big fan of the rose man and has had hundreds of photos taken by Johnny Polaroid while going out over the years. He’s happy to hear about Ripon.
“I am very happy to hear that Ripon is in Italy. It was a bit of a shock to read that he had such a hard time, if I had known I might have been able to help him,” said Klinkenberg.
To Italy?
The Polaroid fan still misses the rose man when he is in the pub with his friends again. “It was always nice to capture those special moments, unfortunately that is no longer possible,” said Sander Klinkenberg.
“So now let’s go to Italy to thank him for his many years of loyal smile and all the beautiful moments he captured in Haarlem.”