Farmer in India has been naked for 40 years - because he is allergic to clothes
A farmer in India has been naked since he was five-year-old because he's allergic to clothes.
Simply slipping on a sock would cause excruciating pain for Subal Barman, 43, from Rajpur village, in West Bengal, northern India.
Despite being diagnosed when he was a child, Mr Barman has been unable to seek treatment because of the costs.
Subal Barman says people in his village are used to seeing him naked and don't mind
Instead he has got used to living his day-to-day life in the nude.
The condition is so uncomfortable, can't even sleep under bed sheets as the material affects his sensitive skin.
While many might be shocked to see a fully-grown man wandering around wearing little to protect his modesty, he insists people in his village have got used to him.
From my childhood I could not wear clothes on my skin. It gives me a burning sensation and it's unbearable,' he said.
'My neighbours have fortunately got used to me, they think it's normal and never complain,' he added.
'They know I've had this issue for years so they leave me be and do not tease me.'
He refuses to allow his allergy to ruin his social life and explains that he's attended weddings, parties and even popped into the local temple completely naked.
Despite years battling the elements without a stitch on, Mr Barman, who has never left his village, still has trouble with the weather.
Wearing clothes gives Subal Barman a burning sensation so he has not worn any for 40 years
He says it does not stop him from carrying out his farming work and that he has been accepted by people in his village
Farmer Subal Burman, 43, walking home after working in his farming land at a village in West Bengal, India
'I have to take baths several times a day in the summer because my skin is too sensitive to the heat,' he said. 'I can't cope with the prickly sensations, water is the only thing that helps.'
His allergy hasn't affected his work as a farmer but Mr Barman, who lives alone after losing his father as a child and his mother in 2003, is convinced it is the reason he's still single.
'What woman could marry a man who has this kind of problem?' he asked.
'No family will allow their daughter to marry me. I know I'm an embarrassment but I have no choice. This is the life I have to live. I know I'll be alone forever – this is my destiny but being sad or depressed about it cannot reduce my problem.'
He poses with a neighbour's child outside his residence at a village in West Bengal, India, where he says people are used to his naked ways
Subal Burman, 43, drinks water from a hand pump outside his residence at a village in West Bengal
As a child he did occasionally feel uncomfortable naked, but he now accepts that he's likely to be nude for the rest of his life.
He likes to believe the condition may be a blessing.
'I have accepted that God has given me this special thing. Maybe in his eyes I am special!'
Professor Hywel Williams, a spokesperson for the British Skin Foundation, said that Subal might be suffering from a form of Dysaesthesia, which is an abnormal unpleasant sensation when someone is touched, usually caused by damage to the peripheral nerves.
He said: 'Dysaesthesia includes pins and needles, burning, tingling and a crawling sensation. Dysaesthesia can result from a number of conditions such as diabetic neuropathy or multiple sclerosis.
'It usually occurs in localised parts of the body. Sometimes, no obvious problem with the affected nerves is found.'
He won't let it stop him living a full life but says he believes it is the reason why he has not found a wife
Mr Barman said he has never left his village to get treatment because of prohibitive costs and is used to wearing no clothes
Villagers are used to his naked ways but Mr Barman said it can be troublesome in the summer months when he regularly has to take baths to avoid sun damage
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