Berhampur: A Ganjam based woman from Odisha, who is born with 20 toes and 12 fingers, prefers to stay confined to her house. The reason is that most of her neighbours suspect her of being a witch thanks to her physical abnormality.
According to Odisha Woman Nayak Kumari (63), she was born with a medical condition but she cannot afford the treatment due to poverty. However, her neighbours believe that she is a witch but there is nothing she can do to change her appearance.
“I was born with this defect and could not be treated because I belong to a poor family. The superstitious residents believe I am a witch and stay away from me. I stay indoors most of the time to keep away from others’ prying eyes,” she said.
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Asked about the old woman one of her neighbours said, “This is a small village and people here are superstitious. The old lady has a medical condition but cannot afford the treatment.”
According to surgical specialist Dr. Pinaki Mohanty, having 20 toes and 12 fingers is very rare.
“This is a case of Polydactyly, in which extra fingers are there from birth. This is caused by a mutation in genes. Polydactyly is not that uncommon, around one or two people in every five thousand have extra fingers, he said.
It is worthy to mention here that taking birth with extra fingers should not be looked down upon. It is purely a medical abnormality. Even Bollywood heartthrob Hrithik Roshan has six fingers in right hand. Yet, he is a leading actor of Bollywood and audience across the world has accepted his talent ignoring his physical abnormality.
Ms Kalinga