Messua's husband was the richest man in an Indian village. His wife, Messua, decided to adopt the wild boy, Mowgli, who had strayed out of the jungle because she believed him to be their long-lost son, Nathoo. Her husband was initially as enthusiastic as she was but, the boy's ignorance of village customs resulted in some embarrassing incidents for which he was penalised; early editions of The Jungle Book mention an incident in which he has to placate the village priest with silver but, this is cut from later editions.