NOT at all worried about what's happening outside the clumps of bushes surrounding his little shed, Kalka Prasad looks comfortable inside his little home as he smokes tobacco while piling coconut husks.
A glimpse of the shed only makes one wonder how Mr Prasad manages to live in the open room on cold nights on an uncovered mattress.
With a string hung across one corner of the shed where he hangs his clothes, Mr Prasad, who is mentally-challenged and lives in Tovata, outside Labasa Town, has never asked for a better home or a bed to rest his fragile body.
Mr Prasad has been living in such an environment for more than two years.
He knows he is above 60 years of age and has no clue as to his date of birth.
Mr Prasad is taken care of by his younger sister Shiu Wati who lives a block away.
She told The Fiji Times yesterday her brother suffered from mental illness after leaving secondary school in the 1960s.
"I have taken care of him since my mother died a long time ago and we can't afford to build a bigger home," Ms Wati said.
"I cook his food and wash his clothes.
"He is also helpful to me although at times, he suffers from his illness and just keeps to himself.
"Some evenings he'll mix leaves with water in a small basin and sit in his shed to drink it as if he's drinking yaqona."
Ms Wati said her brother had never been afflicted by flu or other sicknesses and had never visited the hospital.
Social Welfare divisional officer Josefa Camaivuna confirmed Mr Prasad was being assisted by the department through a monthly allowance.