Uttar Pradesh's 'Mowgli Girl' Is Not Mentally Challenged, She Is Quickly Learning How To Be Human Again
Ehsaas was found in the Katarniya Ghat forest range in Bahraich Uttar Pradesh this January. Early reports said she had severe wounds on her limbs and that she screeched and threw things at people who came too close. This led to stories that she was a wild child who had been cared for by monkeys. Now at Nirvan Hospital an NGO-run home for mentally challenged children in Lucknow.
The small courtyard reverberated with the beats of a recent Bollywood hit: "Tujhko banakar le jayenge, Badri ki dulhania''. But little Ehsaas, clad in a blue T-shirt and yellow tights, appears unaffected. Curled up in a chair, she seems lost in thought, murmuring to herself in a low voice, occasionally stroking her arms and caressing her fingers.
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Ever since she was found in the Katarniya Ghat forest range in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, this January, the "Mowgli girl" has hit local and global headlines. Responding to a call on the 100 helpline, police officials found an emaciated child, anywhere between 8 and 11 years old. Early reports said she had severe wounds on her limbs, and that she screeched and threw things at people who came too close, and ate food off the ground. This led to stories that she was a wild child who had been cared for by monkeys.
Some in the local media and hospital staff called her Van Devi (forest goddess).
Now at Nirvan Hospital, an NGO-run home for mentally challenged children in Lucknow, she is fighting fever and malnutrition, and being given a cocktail of medicines to gain strength. Ehsaas ("feeling" in Urdu) is a fitting name for someone who could speak only through her silences. Suresh Singh Dhapola, the founder of the home, gave her this non-denominational name. "Uske paas shabd nahin hain (she doesn't know any words),'' says Dhapola.
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But in the last two months, Ehsaas has already changed. She asks for food by saying "dana" (grain in Hindi), gestures to the glass for water, and knows she must take off her clothes before relieving herself. "She has observed these things and is imitating them. This has assured me that she is not mentally challenged but has just forgotten what it was like to live with humans. It might be coming back to her,'' says Dhapola.
Special educator Isha Srivastav, one of Ehsaas's caregivers, says that she appears to have sensory problems. "She may have missed human touch so she constantly strokes her arms and legs. She screams to show her disapproval and crawls like a baby when she is tired. She is averse to being touched by strangers,'' she says.
Living with other children in the home, Ehsaas seems to be calming down. While she barely touched her food the first day, she now consumes juice, milk and vegetables. "As her food intake has increased, she is able to walk without help and even smiles occasionally,'' Dhapola says, as Ehsaas accepts a piece of chocolate from another child.
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But progress is not straightforward. Her caregivers are floundering to find a way into her mind. A yellow ball given to her is thrown away with great dexterity, but so is her glass of juice when she's done. She hates her medicines, which have to be coaxed down her throat.
Her psychological condition is being slowly understood, with a series of tests. Mental illness has been ruled out by Dr V D Gadkar, deputy director with central government's National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD), who visited the home on April 11 as part of a team. "After observing her we have ruled out the possibility that she is mentally challenged or autistic, though she has some animal-like traits.''
ALSO READ: A Real Life Mowgli In UP? 8-YO Girl Found Living With Monkeys, She Doesn't Behave Like Humans
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The idea of a wild child raised by animals, untouched by the human world, is a story we love to hear. Accounts of such feral children, or noble savages, have inevitably turned out to be hoaxes that cover up a more mundane story of neglect or abuse. "The fates of these feral children can reveal uncomfortable truths about how we treat people who are different to ourselves, but they can also show how caring and compassionate we can be," writes anthropologist Mary-Ann Ochota who has researched three such cases. They are fascinating because they call up questions of humanity and authenticity, nature and civilisation, through these mute children who seemingly exist on the border between them.
Similar accounts of such children come up, all over the world. Like the famous Kamala and Amala of the 1920s, twin girls who were believed to be raised by wolves, Ehsaas's story is also falling apart at the seams. And now, there are many offers of care and shelter coming her way. Dhapola says two men came, claiming to be her grandfather and uncle, but failed to convince him. The state government has offered to help rehabilitate her, and assured Dhapola that nobody would be given custody without DNA proof of a relationship. "Kismet le kar ayee hai (she has come with good fortune)," says Dhapola, gesturing to the 55 other children who barely get any visitors or attention. The irony is not lost on anyone.