- Title: INDIA: Indian teenager loves to play with lizards
- Date: 28th December 2006
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) NAVRATTAN HARSH, A BOY WHO LIKES TO PLAY WITH LIZARDS, SAYING: "I have been extremely fond of playing with lizards ever since I was a child. I keep lizards with a lot of care. I like playing with them. After I come back from school I feed them, play with them and then let them go." (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) GANESH KUMAR OJHA, HARSH'S FRIEND, SAYING: "I used to be very scared to be with him (Navrattan) because of his fondness for lizards but now I have become used to them. I never know when a lizard is on my back or in my pocket. I have tried to talk him out of this silly hobby but its no use."
- Embargoed: 13th January 2007 00:02
- Keywords:
- Location: India
- Country: India
- Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVA52QE68Q5K5607E7YTE8WDANP5
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: Fifteen-year-old Navrattan Harsh of Bikaner in India's northwestern Rajasthan loves lizards. So much so that he has been nicknamed Mowgli because of his fondness for the small reptiles.
A student of class nine in a local school, Harsh waits for school to finish so that he can rush home and play with his beloved, albeit poisonous, friends.
A liking that started in his childhood has only become a full-blown passion in his teenage years. Harsh finds lizards wherever he can and looks after them with a lot of affection.
In fact, Harsh likes lizards so much that he puts them all over his body, including hanging them from his face and ears. He is not even scared to put them inside his mouth.
"I have been extremely fond of playing with lizards ever since I was a child. I keep lizards with a lot of care. I like playing with them. After I come back from school I feed them, play with them and then let them go," said Harsh.
His love for the animal kingdom, however, only stretches to lizards and he can play with as many as 150 of the creatures at the same time.
His family and friends, who earlier used to be awe-struck by the slightly odd antics of the boy, have now got used to his peculiar hobby.
"I used to be very scared to be with him (Navrattan) because of his fondness for lizards but now I have become used to them. I never know when a lizard is on my back or in my pocket. I have tried to talk him out of this silly hobby but its no use," said Ganesh Kumar Ojha, Harsh's childhood friend.
Doctors in Bikaner remain astounded that Harsh remains unaffected despite having been bitten by his pet lizards several times. - Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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