Banja Luka legend Alija Mahmutovic, better known as Mr. Ale, died yesterday in Banja Luka. He was known throughout the city on the River Vrbas for his generosity, humanity, compassion, and cheerfulness. He spent his last days in the Nursing Home.
“Our Ale went on his way with his pigeons…”
The employees and residents of the Banja Luka Nursing Home wrote an emotional farewell letter.
“Often, due to the nature of our work, we get close to our users and we rarely talk about it, because of families, because of other users, because of data confidentiality, but we have to write at least a word or two about this user, respecting all of the above. Our dear Mr. Ale, Alija Mahmutovic was born on February 25th, 1942 in the village of Vrbanja, to father Mustafa and mother Adevija, at least that is what is written on his birth certificate, he often claimed that he was born in January 1941.
Little is known about his life, but what is known is that throughout his life he was a humane and generous man, with a cheerful expression on his face, who had many hobbies, among them walking around town, handing out candies to children, regularly feeding pigeons, dogs and cats, regulated traffic as an amateur, collected Animal Kingdom stickers, memorized license plates and what not. He came to our home in February 2023 and soon the news spread that he was here. Due to his advanced illness, we learned little about him, but that didn’t even matter to us, because even without the legend of Ale, seeing his warm look and spirit was enough to win anyone over. Although he could not walk well, he used to go to the window and feed the pigeons. “You know, we need to feed them, they need to feed their young,” he would say quietly and barely intelligibly. He would often hold our hands and just smile. He was calm, composed, and dignified in all his ordeal. And when he could no longer walk, he did not forget his pigeons, he would just give us his hand with a piece of bread and we knew what to do.
In this short time, he was hospitalized several times and always came back, but not this time. Our Ale went on his way with his pigeons and left behind many beautiful memories that we will all remember. He taught us to approach everything and everyone with a smile, warmth, gentleness, and respect, just like he did. Our dear Ale, it was an honor to know you and serve you,” the letter states.
Alija Mamutovic Ale’s biography
Alija Mamutovic was born at the end of 1941 in the suburban settlement of Vrbanja. Ale is the fourth child of father Mustafa and mother Adevija. In 1944, when planes bombed a bridge on the Vrbanja River, which was in the immediate vicinity of Ale’s house, as a two-year-old he was hit by 12 shrapnel in the head, and after surgery, it was recommended that he be placed in an institution for people with special needs.
He was an exceptional connoisseur of geography and Banja Luka families, and thanks to his excellent memory, he remembered airplane disasters, car tags, and Animal Kingdom sticker numbers, which is why he was often called the Rain Man. His mother died in 1990, and after his mother’s death, his sister Hanumica, who died in 2012, took care of him, N1 reports.
E.Dz.
