An Indian man who fathered seven daughters has not washed for 35 years in an apparent attempt to ensure his next child is a boy, newspapers reported.
Kailash “Kalau” Singh replaces bathing and brushing his teeth with a “fire bath” every evening when he stands on one leg beside a bonfire, smokes marijuana and says prayers to Lord Shiva, according to the Hindustan Times.
“It’s just like using water to take a bath,” Kalau was reported as saying. “A fire bath helps kill germs and infection in the body.”
Kalau, 63, from a village outside the holy city of Varanasi, outraged his family by refusing to take a ritual dip in the river Ganges even after his brother died five years ago.
“I still don’t remember how it all began,” he said in the paper. “I just know it started about 35 years ago.”
Kalau’s hygiene regime has taken its toll on his professional life.
The grocery store that he used to own closed when customers stopped shopping there due to his “unhealthy personality” and he now tills fields near Varanasi airport.
Kalau, who wears two pullovers all through the Indian summer, said his pledge not to wash was a commitment to the “national interest.”
“I’ll end this vow only when all problems confronting the nation end,” he said.
But Kalau’s explanation for the boycott didn’t wash with neighbors.
“A seer once told Kalau that if he does not take a bath, he would be blessed with a male child,” a man called Madhusudan told the paper.
Most Indians prefer sons, who are typically regarded as breadwinners, while girls are seen as a burden because of the matrimonial dowry demanded by a groom’s family and the fact that their earnings go to their husband’s family.
(AFP)
報導指出，印度一名育有七女的男子為了求子，已經三十五年未曾洗澡。
《印度斯坦時報》報導，凱拉許.「卡勞」．辛格用「火浴」取代洗澡和刷牙，他每天晚上會單腳站在火堆旁，一邊抽著大麻，一邊向濕婆神祈禱。
報導中引述卡勞的話說；「就像用水洗澡一樣，火浴有助於殺死人體的細菌和感染。」
六十三歲的卡勞來自聖城瓦拉那西外的一個村落，五年前，他的兄弟過世，他拒絕到恆河參加浸浴儀式惹怒了全家人。
報導中他說：「我還是不記得這一切是怎麼開始的，只知道大約是三十五年前開始的。」
卡勞的衛生之道讓他丟了工作。
他本來經營一家雜貨店，後來因為他的「不健康人格」，顧客不再上門而倒閉。他目前在瓦拉那西機場附近種田。
即使在夏天也穿著兩件套頭毛衣的卡勞說，他立誓不洗澡是為了「全國福祉」。
他說：「只有國家面臨的所有問題都解決了，我才會終止這個誓約。」
但卡勞對其不洗澡的解釋並無法讓鄰居信服。
一位名叫麥德哈蘇丹的男子對該報表示：「曾經有一位先知告訴卡勞，若不洗澡就能獲福得子。」
印度人大多重男輕女，他們認為兒子能賺錢養家，而女兒則因為出嫁時必須準備嫁妝給夫家，賺的錢也歸夫家，所以被視為負擔。
（法新社╱翻譯：袁星塵）
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