updated
11/27/03
Fasting fakir flummoxes physicians
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/3236118.stm
Published: 2003/11/25 17:11:53 GMT
BBC
correspondent in Ahmedabad
Doctors
and experts are baffled by an Indian hermit who claims not to have eaten or
drunk anything for several decades - but is still in perfect health.
Prahlad Jani,
a holy man, or fakir, who is over
70 years old, has just spent 10 days under constant observation in Sterling
Hospital, in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad.
During that
time, he did not consume anything and "neither did he pass urine or
stool", according to the hospital's deputy superintendent, Dr Dinesh
Desai.
Yet he is in
fine mental and physical fettle, say doctors.
Most people
can live without food for several weeks, with the body drawing on its fat and protein stores.
But the average human can survive for only three to four days without water.
Followers of
Indian holy men and ascetics have often ascribed extraordinary powers to them,
but such powers are seldom subject to scientific inspection.
"A series
of tests conducted on him show his body mechanism is that of a normal
person," said Dr Desai.
Mr Jani spends
most of his time in a cave near the Ambaji temple in Gujarat state.
He has
never fallen ill and can continue to live like this
Bhiku
Prajapati, Mr Jani's devotee
He spent his
10 days in hospital in a specially prepared room, with a sealed-off toilet and
constant video surveillance.
To help the
doctors verify his claims, Mr Jani agreed to avoid bathing for his time in
hospital.
The only fluid
he was allowed was a small amount of water, to use as mouthwash.
One hundred
millilitres of water were given to him, and then collected and measured in a
beaker when he spat it out, to make sure none had been drunk.
Thank
goddess
A statement
from Ahmedabad's Association of Physicians says that despite no water entering
his body, urine nonetheless appeared to form in his bladder - only to be
re-absorbed by the bladder walls.
At the end of
his confinement, doctors noted no deterioration in his condition, other than a
slight drop in his weight.
"I feel
no need for food and water," says Mr Jani, who claims he was blessed by a
goddess at the age of eight and has lived in caves ever since.
He grew up in
Charod village in Mehsana district and wears the dress of a devotee of the
goddess Ambaji - a red sari-like garment, nose ring, bangles and crimson
flowers in the hair.
He also wears
the vermilion "tika" mark on his forehead, more often seen on married
Hindu women.
His followers
call him "mataji" or goddess.
More
tests
He says he has
survived several decades without food or water because of a hole in his palate.
Drops of water
filter through this hole, he says, sustaining him.
"He has
never fallen ill and can continue to live like this," said Bhiku
Prajapati, one of Mr Jani's many followers.
"A hole
in the palate is an abnormal phenomenon," says Dr Desai.
His colleague,
Dr Urman Dhruv, told the BBC a full medical report is being prepared on Mr
Jani's 10 days under observation.
Doctors say
they cannot verify his claim to have not eaten or drunk for decades - but by
observing his feat under laboratory conditions, they hope to learn more about
the human body.
It is likely
that doctors will want to examine Mr Jani again in order to solve the medical
mystery he has presented them with.
