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80-year-old Haji believes that “cleanliness brings him sickness.” That’s why he hasn’t bathed at all in the past 60 years. He lives in isolation in Dejgah village, in the Southern Iranian province of Fars.
Haji hates contact with water. Even the suggestion of a bath makes him very angry. And all these years of escaping bath time have taken their toll – Haji is almost the color of earth. He has managed to completely blend in with his surroundings. In fact, it’s easy to mistake him for a rock statue if he sits very still.
Amou Haji’s favorite food is rotten meat of dead animals specially porcupines and when asked to eat clean food and drink clean water he gets mad.
His smoking pipe is filled with animal’s feces instead of tobacco and when he feels like smoking cigarettes he lights up a few of them at a time.
He wears a war helmet not to fight off the enemy in the battle field but to keep away from the bitterly cold winters.
Amou Haji has a couple of places to live in: one is a hole in the ground resembling a grave to keep him grounded and in touch with the reality of life and the other an open brick shack built by those who felt sorry for him.
Sure, he uses mirrors fine to check himself out, but his choice of mirror is the passing by cars side mirrors.
After all may be Amou Haji is showing us an alternative and uncongenial way of life to live and who’s to say who’s right and who’s wrong?
For all I know he is luckier than many of us.
His roof is the starred sky, his little shack is paid in full without worrying about monthly mortgages, his pillow and quilt is the soft cushion of the earth embracing him every time.
He goes through days without worrying about overdue gas and electricity bills for his breaths will do the job to warm up his shelter during cold nights.
Instead of having a patio for his house, he has the entire horizon set before him.
He has no fear of getting rubbed at nights because he has built no possessions.
He feels happy despite having no belongings and maybe that is exactly why he is joyful.
He practices drinking his five liters of water every day, a healthy habit, out of a large rusty oil tin versus fancy crystal glasses.
And yes, indeed Amou Haji does care about keeping his hair trimmed and cut but not by going to expensive barbershops but by burning it over a fire.
Amou Haji jan, thank you for showing us how poor we live.
Agencies/Canadajournal
