A young woman born to Indian parents with red hair, white skin and freckles has spent her life being shunned and bullied because people think she's diseased

Pooja Ganatra, 24, who was born in Mumbai, has flaming ginger hair, deep emerald eyes and white skin - like that of a stereotypical Gaelic woman. But the proud Indian was actually born to typically Indian parents who thought her freckles were a birth defect - and have no idea where her unusual looks come from. Ganatra's appearance, believed to stem from her ancestors, has made her feel like a foreigner in her own country - with Indians staring and asking for pictures. It could be her appearance was triggered by an evolutionary throwback, called atavism, to genes that had been passed down from her ancestors after laying dormant for years. Because of her complexion, strangers are often shocked to discover that she speaks Hindi and try to charge her tourist prices because they think she is a backpacker. Her unusual appearance also saw her rushed to hospital as a child over fears she had a skin disease. Her insecurities were intensified as a teenager by the overwhelming pressure to conform to Indian standards of beauty.