Mysterious 'Elephant Man', Kanai; Indians' Myth God 'Ganesha'.

Every morning Kanai Das walks to the railway station and stands at one corner with his hands out in the hope of getting alms.

He patiently waits for the benevolent commuters who give him as much as £3 a day from his efforts.

But the 42-year-old is not just a beggar.

For many Indians, he is the reincarnation of Lord Ganesha – the elephant God known as the ‘Lord of Obstacles’ and they pay him money in respect.

However Kanai doesn’t have a trunk like an elephant.

He suffers from a rare condition called neurofibromatosis that has disfigured his face, left his facial skin sagging down to his chest and his right eye has vanished in all the layers of his droopy flesh.

He cannot eat and talk properly and always needs medicines to keep his inflammatory skin soothed.

And because of his deformity, he has never been able to land a half-decent job.

He said: “I do not want to beg but I have no other way to earn money and look after my mother.

“People think I am God because I have a trunk like him. But I was not like this always.

“I have fond memories of seeing from both the eyes but over the years, my right eye has disappeared.

“I could see it in the mirror some years ago but now I cannot find it in all the pile of flesh. I do not even remember how I used to look before,” says Kanai.

Angel: Bharati Roy adopted Kanai after he was abandoned and found homeless