In the event we happen to get a long hot summer, along with the inevitable water shortage, there is no need to worry, After all no matter how much you perspire you don't need to have a bath. I came across this amusing story in yesterday's news.(Picture: The Ganges in Varanasi)
An Indian man who fathered seven daughters has not washed for 35 years in an attempt to ensure his next child is a boy. Instead of bathing and cleaning his teeth, every evening, Kailash 'Kalau' Singh, stands on one leg beside a bonfire, smoking marijuana and says prayers to Lord Shiva. Now aged 63, it seems to me he is leaving things a bit late in the day.
Kalau has outraged his family by refusing a ritual dip in the river Ganges. He claims taking a 'fire bath' helps kills germs and infection in the body. Kalau used to own a grocery store but had to close for hygiene reasons (no surprise there then). He now tills the fields around Varanasi, the village in which he lives.
A neighbour from the nearby village of Chatav said: "A seer once told Kalau that if he does not take a bath, he would be blessed with a male child." 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 her earnings go to her husbands family.
Personally, I think I would prefer the fire bath to the dip in the Ganges river. The trouble is I can't stand on one leg long enough!
