The great storyteller made many people laugh and made himself unforgettable.
In Székelyföld, in an area surrounded by pine trees, on a high pedestal, next to the Maros, the statue of Hazug Pista was placed by the villagers of Gyergyóalf.
Born in 1931, István Kőllő, known as the Bakta hermit, alias Hazug Pista, a former ranger, lived as a hermit on a farm at the border of Gyergyóalfalu, beyond the inhabited part. He was always happy for visitors who brought him food, and he thanked them with a story.
The great storyteller made many people laugh, and although he didn't build a palace on stilts or leave behind a fortune, he made himself unforgettable. As he said on one occasion, he sometimes told stories in such a way that he was surprised by them, and even he learned from one or the other.
You have to roll so much that if you don't catch your leg, you have to hit it, and you have to invent such lies that even the person who tells them believes it.
- testified Hazug Pista, who died in 2016.
He had a twisted mind
He often told stories about another reality. About the one when the velvety vipers swooped down from the sky, when he scared the fox so much that the "jetti" jumped out of his skin, he didn't have to be skinned, or about the fish in the dry land, which couldn't swim even at the age of two.
If his words are to be believed, he also talked with Andropov and Hitler, not to mention his friendship with the Pope.
His stories made the relationships between people more colorful, his gifts were related to nature and life close to nature. Gyergyóalfalu did not forget the great storyteller, who could entertain his listeners all day long, who trapped reality with serenity, throwing whistles at the world. In the past few days, he was remembered in the settlement, where the statue of Hazug Pista, created by the sculptor Antal Kőrösi, was unveiled.
His way of life is an example that should be taught and conveyed to the younger generations. An excellent opportunity for this is the natural environment where the statue was placed, where you will be able to experience the closeness of nature and the power of fairy tales with class trips and meetings with friends.
- said Szabolcs Gáll, mayor of Gyergyóalfalu, at the statue unveiling ceremony.
