The story of the girls Amala and Kamala entered the legends. Probably because it teaches a lot.
In the fall of 1920, a group of Christian preachers, mostly Indians, made a mission trip to the Milnapor region of India. In one of the distant villages, the inhabitants turned to them with a request to rid them of spirits or ghosts from the nearest jungle.
The team, led by the Reverend J. Singh, so as not to question the power of faith, went into the jungle. An observation post was built on a high tree, from where holes in the ground were visible. In the evening, a wolf suddenly appeared from one, followed by a second, third, their puppies, and, finally, the ghost itself appeared from the hole
It was indeed a terrible creature, with arms, legs and a torso like a human. Big round head, face is also quite human, eyes sparkle.
First, the monster, leaning its elbows on the edge of the hole, carefully looked around. But then it jumped to the ground and lined up behind the puppies. The second appeared behind the first ghost! It was exactly the same as the first, but smaller. Both ran on all fours.
Grabbing guns, observers start aiming at monsters. However, Singh stopped the shooters. Binoculars were used, and Singh managed to convince the companions that these were human cubs. The hunt was canceled. But what's next?
Hiring new assistants, Singh decided to excavate a hole and extract the children from there. At the first blows of the shovels, the adult wolves jumped out of the hole: the she-wolf was immediately killed by the native from the bow: the puppies were given to assistants as a reward. The children huddled to the very bottom of the hole …
Promotional video:
Race on all fours
After long adventures, they managed to be taken to the church orphanage in Midnapor. They were two girls. Apart from Singh, only his wife, who worked there, knew the story of their appearance at the orphanage.
The little ones were very weak. In addition, they did not understand what and how to eat, they did not know how to drink from cups. They loved milk, but they could only suck it, like babies, with a cloth, the end of which was pubescent in liquid. Then they began to lap milk and water with their tongues, like dogs.
The found cubs were washed and cut - they began to look quite normal. Singh estimated the age of the eldest at eight years, while the youngest gave a year and a half. The first received the name Kamala, the second Amala. From that time on, the priest began to keep a detailed diary (published in 1942).
At first, the girls slept a lot. But, having recovered a little, they stopped sleeping altogether after midnight. Both men roamed the orphanage's courtyard fearlessly, looking for a loophole to escape. The darkness was not at all afraid. They ran exceptionally fast and briskly on all fours - like squirrels.
During normal movement, they leaned on their knees and palms pointing outward. What they absolutely could not do was stand straight on two legs. At first, they ate and drank in a dog-wolf position. And even later, they did not take the food served with their hands, but grabbed it with their mouth.
Could smell raw meat in the kitchen 70 meters or more. Pulling up their noses, they sucked in air just like wolves or dogs. Once Kamala from afar rushed to the kitchen with a brutal expression on her face and, growling dully and grinning her teeth, tried to grab a piece of meat from the table.
By smell, they immediately discovered a dead animal or bird and immediately ate easy prey. Then they started to ache from the rotten meat. (In the end, these infections were the main cause of their death. The youngest Amala died first in September 1921).
The girls always chose the darkest places for their stay. They saw better at night than during the day; played their favorite game - hide and seek. The fire of the bonfire, apparently, was familiar to them, but they always hid from its light behind the bushes. During the day, often blinking, they squinted their eyes, and only hunger could drive Amala and Kamala out into the sun, while their breathing was noticeably heavier.
In the cold winter they tried to dress them, but they tore their clothes into small pieces as soon as the teachers left the room. In any bad weather, they preferred to run naked, without experiencing a visible chill. In the end, they were allowed to run around in tightly attached loincloths. Only sometimes, when guests visited the shelter, it was possible to keep them in loose shirt dresses for some time.
In the heat, the girls' skin remained cool and smooth; they drank no more liquids than usual, did not sweat. Their skin never got oily and dirt didn't stick to it. If they ever got dirty, the cleaners wiped themselves on the grass or the ground, like dogs and cats.
Longing for the jungle
Amala and Kamala, apparently, did not perceive other people, including children, as their own. Once Singh brought them a slider, which had not yet risen to its feet. At first, they received the baby quite friendly, but then, having figured it out, they bit the stranger.
Singh assumed they missed their own kind. It seemed that nothing around them interested - they sat for hours, staring. as in meditation, to one point. To stir them up, a group of children was placed with them. The kids had fun, played, chirped, but they were not at all interested in Amala and Kamala, both looked out at their wolves and puppies and got angry, not finding them. They drove ordinary children away, grinning their teeth.
Once the girls managed to jump out of the orphanage yard, and they instantly hid in the thick bushes. The call was not answered; finding and returning them proved to be quite difficult. But they fell in love with the adult educators, especially Singh's wife. She fed Amala and Kamata when they fell ill, treated them with sincere concern. She instantly understood what the girls wanted and tried to please them. Sometimes they refused to accept food from the hands of other people, even if it was about their favorite milk. However, this relationship was not like that of a grandmother with grandchildren, but like that of the owner with the dogs loyal to him.
Without words, but with a howl
The younger Amala was more responsive - the wolfish habits, obviously, had not yet taken root so deeply.
Emotions both showed very poorly. They did not smile or laugh; sometimes it was clear that they were pleased with the tasty food, but their faces remained unreadable. They never cried. Tears on Kamala's cheeks appeared only once, when Amala died next to her.
In joint games, their emotions manifested themselves in movements, for example, joyful jumping, as well as in special glances thrown at each other.
They did not make any sounds - no one heard from them either the usual children's crying or shouts of joy. Obviously, the girls learned well that it should be very quiet near the den. Only occasionally, suffering from another illness, they began to howl like a wolf in the darkest part of the night. Usually - in short series three times a night, like clockwork.
While living with wolves, they had no one to get their speech skills from. Apparently, the elder Kamala ended up in the jungle at a very early age. It's amazing how the wolves managed to feed them.
Stand up on feet
Left alone after Amala's death, Kamala began looking for company among kittens and chickens; but most of all as a companion she was attracted by a hyena puppy. Her sympathy for Mrs Singh's lobra grew, who more than once gave the girl a healing massage.
Kamala has already mastered some human gestures. So, in response to questions, she nodded her head. Its development corresponds to the age of a one and a half year old child. The joints became more mobile - the girl learned to straighten her legs at the knees. This was facilitated by regular massage with mustard oil.
Mrs. Singh showed remarkable ingenuity, inventing all the new tricks to get Kamala literally to her feet. New exercises were gradually introduced - for example, getting a treat from the top shelf. However, even after two years of living in the orphanage, Kamala could not stand firmly on her feet for a long time.
She became afraid of the darkness of the street and with the onset of dusk she preferred to stay in the house. She stopped urinating anywhere and, following the example of others, learned to go to the toilet. She liked to swim, but without immersion in water: she, like a small child, beat the water with her hands, splashing it over herself.
Kamala began to appreciate the theater and at night she pulled the blanket over herself, and did not throw it on the floor, as before. When going for a walk, I put on a dress. Gradually, she became an affectionate and obedient child, in development - about seven years old.
Kamala got to her feet in the middle of 1923, but she was never able to learn to run: just a little, she immediately dropped to all fours. Her attitude towards children in the orphanage has also changed. She began to look after them and, if something happened, dragged adults to help.
Kamala's red dolls
Mrs Singh was called Mom at the orphanage, and Kamala soon began to understand who she was talking about. While the girl did not speak, she sometimes answered questions with expressive glances, which, however, remained undeciphered. But in the seventh year at the shelter, she began to understand speech, and then master her skills.
At first she babbled in incomprehensible scraps of words; over time, speech became more and more distinct. True, her vocabulary was very small (about thirty), so she helped herself with gestures. She chatted with the kids in her own way.
At some point, she developed the habit of constantly muttering and even humming some words to herself. Sometimes she was so immersed in this ritual that she did not notice the person approaching her. She seemed to be fascinated by the rhythm.
She preferred red to all other colors, even her favorite dolls were red.
In September 1929, Kamala fell ill. Gathered the best doctors in the city. An accurate diagnosis was never made; her condition deteriorated rapidly. A month and a half later, she died of uremia.
Promising gene
The case of Amala and Kamala is far from the only one of this kind. Children raised by animals are found from time to time in various parts of the world. However, only Singh almost a century ago wrote down his observations so carefully that his diary still serves science, even from the standpoint of its latest achievements.
Some of the scientific conclusions are quite simple. The case of Amala and Kamala proves that the human body, and above all its brain, has enormous adaptability. Modern genetics even claims: there are many hidden possibilities in the human genome that are activated when it is vital for the body.
The second conclusion: adaptation to the environment occurs in children at a very early age. Pediatricians are right: a child begins to form from the very first days of life. This is important for parents to know. Those who want to adopt children should try to take them as early as possible - then they will soon become close people, and at a subconscious level.
"Miracles and Adventures" 2012
