Kaliash Singh The smelliest man in the world Country: India

1. Kailash Singh - The Man Who Stinks
2. Living with the Consequences
3. Living with the Odor
4. Resistance to Change
5. Stigma and Resilience

Kailash Singh - The Man Who Stinks

Kailash Singh, an Indian agricultural worker, gained notoriety for not bathing for 37 years in the belief that this radical act of personal hygiene would help him and his wife conceive a son. The media worldwide believes that Singh could potentially claim the title of the world's smelliest person in the Guinness World Records.

Living with the Consequences

Life is not easy for Kailash Singh's close family, including his 60-year-old wife, Kalavati Devi, their daughters, and grandchildren. The head of the household has not taken a bath or shower, or even bathed in a river or lake, since 1974. He also hasn't cut his hair or beard, which have turned into giant dreadlocks, since his marriage. Singh explains his rather unusual decision as advice from a priest he received shortly after getting married - whether in jest or completely serious, the priest assured him that giving up bathing would ensure the birth of a son. Ironically, this religious guidance did not bring success, as Singh and his wife have had seven daughters.

Living with the Odor

Neighbors joke that even the birth of daughters was a stroke of luck for the pungent farmer - after all, he managed to convince his wife to share his bed at least seven times! His youngest daughter, Pooja Singh, is 16 years old, while the eldest, Baby Singh, is 35 years old. Kailash Singh spends his days taking care of cows and working in the fields. He lives near the city of Varanasi on the banks of the River Ganges, where temperatures easily reach 47 degrees Celsius in the summer heat. The only "cleansing" procedures he allows himself are "fire baths," which involve daily smoking and burning incense, combined with marijuana smoking, prayers to the Hindu god Shiva, and dancing around a fire.

Resistance to Change

Members of his long-suffering family confess that they once tried to forcefully push him into the river, but Singh fought them off and escaped. They attempted to forcibly put him in the shower several times, but it only led to arguments. Singh claims that he would rather die than take a bath, and since he doesn't have a son and it's unlikely one will be born in the future, the principled "dirty man" will most likely only bathe in his next life - as he believes in the transmigration of souls. His wife, Kalavati, threatened to stop sleeping with him, shouted, and cried, but she was the first to give in and accept her husband's stench. However, she still considers his action meaningless.

Stigma and Resilience

The residents of the neighboring village mock him, but Kailash continues to assert that he is fulfilling the will of his god. However, his children, who have been ridiculing him for several generations, are not affected by this belief. They tease him when Singh rides his bicycle through the village. Singh does not feel sorry for his wife, as he believes that on the day she joined her fate with him, she agreed to share all hardships, even those created by his own stubbornness. The only contact with water that Kailash Singh allows himself is washing his hands and lips. "Maybe when I am born again, I will bathe," he says.