Indian Father Refuses To Wash For 35 Years

May 12, 2009 by tanya
Filed under: News

An Indian father of seven daughters has refused to wash for 35 years in an attempt to have a son.

Kailash “Kalau” Singh has angered his family by refusing to take part in a ritual river dip after his brother passed away five years ago.

Singh, who no longer bathes or brushes his teeth, instead takes a ‘fire bath’. According to the Hindustan Times, he balances on one leg next to a bonfire and says his prayers to the Lord Shiva while smoking marijuana.

The 63-year-old father from a village near Varanasi said “It’s just like using water to take a bath,”

“A fire bath helps kill germs and infection in the body.”

He admitted that he did not remember why he stopped washing, but knew that it had been about 35 years ago.

During the hot Indian summer, Kalau insists on wearing two pullovers.

Kalau used to own a grocery store, which has now shut down after customers started to complain of his standard of hygiene. He now works in the fields near to Varanasi airport.

When asked what would make him wash, he told the paper: “I’ll end this vow only when all problems confronting the nation end,”

Neighbors believe that his motives may differ, with one man saying “A seer once told Kalau that if he does not take a bath, he would be blessed with a male child,”

In India, girls are sometimes seen as a financial burden as a matrimonial dowry and all their future earnings will go to the groom’s family.