True Life Tuesday: Dina Sanichar

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling is a well loved children's book. I remember loving the Disney movie when I was a kid. However, most people are unaware that the character of Mowgli may have been inspired by a real life man in India.

In 1867, Dina Sanichar was found in a cave by a group of hunters in the Bulandshahr district. When they first saw the figure laying alone they believed it was a wolf. However, on further inspection they realized that this was a human boy around 6 years of age. They were unable to communicate with the boy so they decided to take him to Sikandra Mission Orphanage in Agra. Since he could not communicate and tell them his name they decided to name him after the Hindi work for Saturday, the day he arrived.

Dina Sanichar showed more animal than human characteristics. He preferred to crawl on all fours rather than walk on two feet, he ate raw meat and gnawed on bones to sharpen his teeth. He would also growl and howl like a wolf. While he would eventually be able to understand his caretakers he never learned to speak. He would also eventually be able to dress himself and eat from a plate. He also befriended another feral boy at the orphanage and would teach him some of the skills he learned.

While he did make strides he never fully adjusted to life at the orphanage. Unfortunately one of the human habits he did take up was smoking. Some have speculated that he started smoking to appear more human. However this probably lead to the tuberculosis in 1895 at the age of 34 or 35.