Teen with 2ft-long tail is worshipped as 'Hindu monkey god' – but he wants it gone
Suresh, a 14-year-old boy from India, is revered as a deity by his neighbours as a 2ft tail growing from his back has drawn comparisons to Hindu god Shri Hanuman
A teenage boy who has a 2ft-long tail is worshipped in India as a Hindu monkey god.
Suresh, 14, has a bizarre clump of black hair growing from the bottom of his back, extending outward just like a tail.
He has had hair there since he was a child. Over the years the clump has grown and grown, now measuring 2ft after being styled into a braid.
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Residents of Barwani, Madhya Pradesh, India, have compared Suresh to Shri Hanuman, a Hindu god who has a long monkey's tail. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic Ramayana.
Some doctors have suggested that Suresh's tail is the result of a rare genetic condition, although another school of thought is that it is due to a lack of nutrients during his mother's pregnancy.
According to his older brother, their father attempted to slice the tail off when Suresh was just five-years-old. This resulted in the young lad falling ill.
Despite some of his stunned neighbours revering Suresh as a god, others have mocked him. The teenager is now desperate to get rid of his tail as a result, although sadly it doesn't look like doctors will be able to help him.
Suresh says the abnormal clump of hair impacts his life beyond simply being made fun of. He says it irritates him, impacting his sleep and the clothes he can wear. It is also painful when he sits down or gets up, and he says he has trouble focusing on his studies.
In the Hindu epic, Hanuman is almost tortured by people trying to set his tail on fire. He is able to grow the tail longer and longer and when it is eventually lit, it shrinks again allowing him to break free.
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