Dharwad: He is still too young to talk, but a two-year-old boy has become a modern-day Mowgli and a subject of local intrigue after befriending a gang of langur monkeys.
Samarth Bangari's unusual friendship was discovered when the youngster was spotted alone in his village, in Karnataka's Dharwad district, playing with nearly two dozen grey langurs.
The infant's uncle Barama Reddy said it was "strange" for the monkeys to behave like that, and villagers feared the boy would be attacked while his parents worked in a nearby field.
"Since that day, the monkeys haven't missed a day. They come to the house around the same time," Reddy told AFP.
He said Samarth was now a local legend due to his "special bond" with the monkeys, whose sounds he mimics even though he cannot speak yet.
Mowgli was a character in "The Jungle Book", Rudyard Kipling's tales about a boy who grew up in the wild in India, and is often used as a shorthand for people who are able to bridge the human-animal divide.
Samarth Bangari's unusual friendship was discovered when the youngster was spotted alone in his village, in Karnataka's Dharwad district, playing with nearly two dozen grey langurs.
The infant's uncle Barama Reddy said it was "strange" for the monkeys to behave like that, and villagers feared the boy would be attacked while his parents worked in a nearby field.
Samarth's bond with the monkeys has become a subject of local intrigue in his village. (AFP)
"Since that day, the monkeys haven't missed a day. They come to the house around the same time," Reddy told AFP.
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The monkeys kept returning to visit their young friend in Allapur.
The unusual relationship piqued local interest, and soon people began visiting the house to catch a glimpse of young Samarth tottering around the farm with 20 langurs in tow.
He said Samarth was now a local legend due to his "special bond" with the monkeys, whose sounds he mimics even though he cannot speak yet.
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Mowgli was a character in "The Jungle Book", Rudyard Kipling's tales about a boy who grew up in the wild in India, and is often used as a shorthand for people who are able to bridge the human-animal divide.
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