An Indian teenager is being worshiped like a god because he has a tail.
Arshid Ali Khan, 13, is referred to as Balaji, an incarnation of the Hindu monkey god Hanuman, because of a
7-inch “tail” protruding from the middle of his back.
Locals in his Pujab state consider him a divine symbol, and visitors come to be blessed by him daily. His worshippers often leave gifts, and sometimes even money, to pay their respects to his godly deformity.
“I love my tail,” Balaji said. “It’s a gift from God. It’s unusual, but people respect me and bow before me because of it. I feel special.”
Balaji is just one of 40 people who were born with a "human tail'', according to People’s Journal of Scientific Research. But soon, he may have to get his beloved snake-like growth removed because it is causing health problems.
The teen is already wheelchair-bound and suffers from twisted limbs, which will likely get worse in the next few years. Doctors believe he has meningocele, a form of spina bifida in which the spinal cord develops abnormally, according to nairaland.com.
Balaji’s family is worried about surgically removing the tail, but say it is ultimately up to him to decide.
“If he wants his tail removed, we do not mind,” said his grandad, Iqbal Qureshi, whom Balaji lives with in Chandigarh, India.
With or without a tail, Balaji said, people will still come to him to get advice and seek his “powers.”
“Doctors can remove my tail — but people will continue to believe in me,” he said.
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