No wall too challenging for ‘Spiderman of India’
A desperate bid to end his life opened doors of discovery for Jyothy Rai who chanced upon his unique genetic traits that have today made him popular as the “Spiderman of India”.
The 23-year-old will be featured in a show, Stan Lee’s Superhumans, on Discovery Science, which deals with people like him who have remarkable powers.
No wall is too challenging for him, whether it belongs to the Chitradurga fort or a skyscraper.
Like the comic book hero, he nimbly scales 300-ft-high walls without a safety harness in view of hundreds of people.
“I don’t know how to explain this gift I have. I wasn’t aware of it myself until five years ago when I tried to commit suicide by jumping off the Chitradurga fort,” recalls Jyothy.
As he climbed the wall of the fort intent on jumping off it when reaching the top, he suddenly heard people below clap and realised he was doing something very unusual.
The appreciation by the visitors to the fort saved his life and the 18-year-old, the fifth of seven siblings, who had wandered in despair from his village of Kamarajpuram to Chitradurga, to end it all, felt a renewed sense of hope although this was not the first time he had tried to kill himself.
He once jumped into a pond after tying himself to a boulder in the hope that he would sink to its bottom, but then untied himself and floated to the top.
He is obviously glad that he did as a wonderful life of fame awaited him. But he is upset that he has not got the support he needs from either the government or his parents.
Still, he is happy to be one of two Indians Discovery has chosen to profile on its show. It makes everything seem worthwhile.
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