Reminders of just how far from home we are.

I've developed a habit. I like to read the local papers cover to cover. For the most part, they look like any mid-size US city newspaper replete with the latest international terrorist plot, sports, and business news. But read on and I always find a story that portrays just how different life is like in India compared to the US.

For instance, here's one that caught my disbelieving eye lately that I've been carrying around for 10 days...


Boy who bit into trouble is rescued.

A 15-year-old boy who had been tied to a tree for the last nine years after he betrayed an unusual tendency to bite dogs and goats in West Bengal was rescued and shifted to a mental hospital here on Wednesday, authorities said.

Rahul Amin Dhali is a healthy boy without any physical abnormalities, but at the age of six, he first bit a dog in the village, about 60 kms north of the city. Rahman Dhali, his father told heath officials here.

"And within a couple of days later, my son had even bitten off flesh from the feet of a family member," Rahman said.

The child who wandered about in the village, later bit a goat that was grazing in a field and then went on to nibble at the paws of the neighbor's pet dog, Rahman, farmer, revealed.

With the numbers of complaints from neighbours increasing, a distraught Rahman decided to chain his son by the wrist to a tree in front of their house. Rahman, however, ensured that his son learned to read.

"We went to the village and found him tied to a tree with a long chain near a pond and he seemed sick to us," Sushanata Dutta, a senior government official, told reporters here.

Mr. Dutta had led a rescue team on Monday last after the village health workers apprised him of Rahul's condition.

"It became a serious matter after he developed the habit of nibbling at his hands and feet when failed to lure dogs and cats for a bite," Mr. Dutta added.

Doctors currently treating Rahul said that the boy has been suffering from a serious neurological disorder.

"Everyone was scared of Dhali because they thought he was a demon possessed with evil, but he should be fine with several months of treatment," Ranadip Ghosh Roy, one of he doctors informed.