<p>An Indian yogi whose claims he spent decades without food or water earned him a band of devotees and the scepticism of doctors died Tuesday, his neighbour told AFP.</p>.<p>The long-haired and bearded Prahlad Jani -- who dressed in red and wore a nose ring in the fashion of Hindu goddesses -- hailed from Charada village in the western state of Gujarat, where he spent his life in a routine of yoga and mediation.</p>.<p>He was 90 based on his claim that he was born in August 1929.</p>.<p>"He died early Tuesday morning at his residence due to old age," Sheetal Chaudhary, who lived next door to Jani, told AFP.</p>.<p>"He was rushed to hospital after midnight, but was declared dead on arrival by the doctors there."</p>.<p>Jani's body was taken to Ambaji, a town renowned for its temples and where he had built a small ashram and was known as "Mataji" (goddess).</p>.<p>"The body will be kept at the ashram for the next two days for people to pay their last respects," Chaudhary said, adding that Jani would be cremated on Thursday.</p>.<p>Jani's tale that he was blessed by a goddess when he was a child which enabled him to survive without sustenance won him a small group of followers -- despite the doubts of medical professionals.</p>.<p>He told AFP in 2003 he got the "elixir of life from the hole in my palate, which enables me to go without food and water".</p>.<p>There was no way of verifying Jani's claims, but doctors have said a person cannot go for long periods without food or water without organ damage and the body breaking down.</p>.<p>Nevertheless, Jani's claims attracted the interest of India's medical community.</p>.<p>In 2010 a team of military doctors studied him for two weeks at a hospital in Ahmedabad, Gujarat's biggest city.</p>.<p>Jani was watched with cameras and closed circuit television. Doctors took scans of his organs, brain and blood vessels, and conducted tests on his heart, lungs and memory capacity.</p>.<p>They said he did not eat, drink or go to the toilet, and his only contact with fluid was during gargling and bathing periodically.</p>.<p>"We still do not know how he survives," neurologist Sudhir Shah told reporters then.</p>.<p>"It is still a mystery what kind of phenomenon this is."</p>.<p>The results of the study, initiated by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation, were never published or submitted for peer review.</p>
<p>An Indian yogi whose claims he spent decades without food or water earned him a band of devotees and the scepticism of doctors died Tuesday, his neighbour told AFP.</p>.<p>The long-haired and bearded Prahlad Jani -- who dressed in red and wore a nose ring in the fashion of Hindu goddesses -- hailed from Charada village in the western state of Gujarat, where he spent his life in a routine of yoga and mediation.</p>.<p>He was 90 based on his claim that he was born in August 1929.</p>.<p>"He died early Tuesday morning at his residence due to old age," Sheetal Chaudhary, who lived next door to Jani, told AFP.</p>.<p>"He was rushed to hospital after midnight, but was declared dead on arrival by the doctors there."</p>.<p>Jani's body was taken to Ambaji, a town renowned for its temples and where he had built a small ashram and was known as "Mataji" (goddess).</p>.<p>"The body will be kept at the ashram for the next two days for people to pay their last respects," Chaudhary said, adding that Jani would be cremated on Thursday.</p>.<p>Jani's tale that he was blessed by a goddess when he was a child which enabled him to survive without sustenance won him a small group of followers -- despite the doubts of medical professionals.</p>.<p>He told AFP in 2003 he got the "elixir of life from the hole in my palate, which enables me to go without food and water".</p>.<p>There was no way of verifying Jani's claims, but doctors have said a person cannot go for long periods without food or water without organ damage and the body breaking down.</p>.<p>Nevertheless, Jani's claims attracted the interest of India's medical community.</p>.<p>In 2010 a team of military doctors studied him for two weeks at a hospital in Ahmedabad, Gujarat's biggest city.</p>.<p>Jani was watched with cameras and closed circuit television. Doctors took scans of his organs, brain and blood vessels, and conducted tests on his heart, lungs and memory capacity.</p>.<p>They said he did not eat, drink or go to the toilet, and his only contact with fluid was during gargling and bathing periodically.</p>.<p>"We still do not know how he survives," neurologist Sudhir Shah told reporters then.</p>.<p>"It is still a mystery what kind of phenomenon this is."</p>.<p>The results of the study, initiated by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation, were never published or submitted for peer review.</p>