Meet the Indian teenage toddlers

London, Feb 11 (ANI): Azad Singh and sister Laxmi Yadav are grown-up teenagers, but they have not grown at all since they were five or six and still look like little kids.

The pair, who live in Haryana, India, have not been through puberty due to a rare congenital disorder.

And much to their misfortune, their poor parents cannot afford to pay for hormone treatment which might allow them to reach adulthood.

At 3ft, Azad is studying for A-Levels in English and Maths with the help of a tutor and wants to train as an engineer, while Laxmi, who is 3ft 3ins, is at high school taking the equivalent of her GCSEs.

However, the duo has to remain in their short bodies for the rest of their lives because necessary hormone injections should normally be given before the age of 16 or 17.

The teenagers will continue to live with their mum Manju Bala, dad Bahadur Singh, a casual labourer, and sister Suman Yadav, 12, who is normal height. oth Azad and Laxmi ride children's bikes, which is made out of second-hand spare parts, and wear clothes made for four or five-year-olds.

"I'm taking my exams in April. I'm doing a lot of revision and hard work," The Mirror quoted Azad as saying.

He added: "When I go out, such as to walk to my tutor's house, my mum has to come with me.

"People think I'm still a kid and need looking after. If Laxmi or I go out alone, people stare and gather round us. Some unkind people even shout names at us in the street. So we normally have our parents or sister Suman with us.

"I cannot hang out with boys my age, because they say I cannot keep up with them. But I have two friends at school who spend time with me, and don't mind that I'm small."

Laxmi said: "When we were younger our parents had to change our school because the other kids laughed at us because of our size." (ANI)