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ORISSA MAN APES TARZAN
By PRADEEP MAHAPATRO
For most of us, home is a secure place on mother earth, with strong walls and many rooms.
But for one man living in Nayagarh in Orissa, home is in the wild, atop a tree in a makeshift shed.
The dense forest of Nayagarh in Orissa is home to 45-year-old Kapila Pradhan. He has been living on a tree in this forest for 15 years. His house is 25 feet above the ground and while most would consider this dangerous, Kapila has his reasons.
"There is a danger that wild animals will attack me in the jungle, so I stay on the tree to be safe," smiles Kapila.
The natural question to ask is then, why doesn't Kapila stay in his village, which is just two km away from this tree?
Villagers say that Kapila's mentally unstable and that he left home after he had a quarrel with his wife. He has been living in the forest ever since.
"His mental state is not sound and that's why he left me and went to the jungle. I want him to come back," says Kapila's wife, Tulsi Pradhan.
For 15 years, Kapila has lived on whatever he found edible in the jungle. Sometimes the villagers feed him. But no amount of hardship or coaxing would make him leave his tree house for a conventional home where his family lives.
A few hours with Kapila is enough to make anyone understand that he has developed a special and unique relationship with the tree that has been his home for more than a decade.
For Kapila, it is a home away from home.
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EXCLUSIVE STORY
