Russian Nina Kutina and her two daughters were found by police living in a cave in southern India. She lived in a cave equipped only with plastic mats, clothing, instant noodles and a few groceries, and the cave leaked during rain.
Why did Nina Kutina choose to live in a cave?
For years she travelled the world, living in Costa Rica, Bali, Nepal and Thailand, among other places. She arrived in India in 2016, seeking contact with nature and a quieter life. After this decision, she cut herself off almost completely from civilization.
A new life in the Indian jungle
A routine police patrol in the Gokarna forest (Karnataka state) came across a woman with two young daughters. Intrigued by the colourful clothes drying outside the grotto, the officers discovered simple equipment: plastic mats, cups, clothing and packets of instant noodles.
Neither the woman nor her daughters had valid documents allowing them to stay in India. After they were discovered, they were taken to a centre for foreigners.
Family drama
Nina Kutina told media that nature provided her family with health and happiness, and that she herself was content with the forest lifestyle. The woman had travelled the world for over a dozen years, and her youngest daughter was supposedly born in a cave in Goa. In interviews she stressed that the children were not exposed to danger. She had lived in the forest cave for a week, having previously stayed in a similar place in Goa.
During the inspection and interviews with police, she stressed that “snakes are friendly”, although some are in fact dangerous, and she did not consider staying there with the children to be risky. After being found, the family received medical care and no threat to the children’s health was identified.
Ultimately, following a court intervention and support from the Russian embassy, the family was issued travel documents, and Nina Kutina and the children returned to Russia on 28 September. A man from Goa who claims to be the girls’ father also sought to intervene in the case; he asked the court to leave the children in India, but the court ruled that returning to Russia was in their best interests.
Kutina told the media that the children studied, played, swam in a waterfall, did art and cooked together, stressing that they were safe and happy.
List of places where Nina Kutina previously lived:
- Costa Rica
- Bali
- Nepal
- Thailand
- Malaysia
- Ukraine
- India (since 2017)
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