Worshipped as a god!
a medical condition means neighbours believe this boy is a reincarnated Hindu deity…
Six-year-old Pranshu sits on a rug blessing crowds of visitors in his hometown of Phillaur, India.
He was born with a mysterious condition that means he has an unusually large head and wide-set, narrow eyes, giving him a resemblance to the Hindu elephant god Ganesh. Friends even believe he’s the reincarnation of the deity.
‘His body and eyes are like Lord Ganesh,’ explains Pranshu’s father, Kamlesh. ‘People come to receive his blessings.
‘I also worship him like the other villagers. He goes to school every day and when people see my son, they welcome him with flowers.’
Sadly, Pranshu’s condition means his joints are stiffening, making walking and even eating increasingly difficult.
Blessed
Desperate to solve the mystery of his condition before he suffers further, Pranshu’s grandpa, Sunder Lal, takes him to see neurosurgeon Dr Ashis Pathak at the Fortis Hospital in Sitapur, two hours away.
There, X-rays and brain scans reveal Pranshu’s elbows and hip joints are abnormally fused and that he has underlying epilepsy. The signs indicate that he has the rare genetic condition Jacobsen Syndrome.
Although there’s no cure, Dr Pathak hopes that treating Pranshu’s epilepsy and mobility pain could give him a chance of a stable life. It also means that Pranshu can carry on blessing his fans.
‘I’m happy with how I look and I hope God always keeps me happy,’ he says. ‘Nobody teases me. I feel good when people call me Ganesh!’
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