Kanur is from the Baga-Chonos clan. His father was the famous Kalmyk monk and healer Maani bagshi (his secular name was Kheeche Baburkievich Baburkiev). At the age of six, Maani bagshi was sent to a local temple and the next year was sent to Mongolia to pursue a religious education. From Mongolia he was sent to Tibet where he spent around 20 years studying Buddhism and medicine. According to Kanur, upon his return to Kalmykia, Maani bagshi served as the head of several temples. When the Soviets came to power, he left the temple he was then head of and married Kanur’s mother. He practiced medicine at home. In 1931 Maani bagshi was arrested and spent four months in prison in Saratov. In prison he cured a sick person who, it turned out, was a close friend of Mikhail Kalinin, a well-known Bolshevik revolutionary. A grateful Kalinin provided Maani bagshi with a document saying that his healing methods did not contradict Soviet medicine. Maani bagshi had many patients, both young and old, Kalmyk and Russian. He did not charge for his services, although the grateful patients would leave money on his domestic altar. Kanur recalls that his father made medicine from various herbs. He also kept pills made in Mongolia, consecrated butter, and water, as well as modern tools such as a thermometer and a pair of scales to weigh medicine. Maani bagshi was also a clairvoyant. For example, he predicted World War Two and the deportation of the Kalmyks. A patriot, he loved his country and always taught others to seek education, be honest, and help the weak. Maani bagshi himself was a kind- hearted person and never held a grudge against even those who hurt him. He also taught his son Kanur special prayers. Maani bagshi died at the age of 85 in February 1943 the day before the traditional holiday of Tsagan Sar. Kanur was 12. Kanur says that the soil from his father’s grave has medicinal properties. People use it to cure not only themselves but their cattle.