Snake stories 🐍

For past few days I have been following the Snakes of India page on Facebook.

Feels good to be able to correctly identify the wolf snake. I used to be always confused about that. 😊

Identifying the big 4's (cobra, Krait, saw scaled viper and Russel's viper), or pit vipers or the king cobra, was not a problem since as a teenager I learnt about them. 

After having bitten by few non-venomous snakes, while I was learning to handle them, 😊 blue chequered keellback(दिवड) 2 times, while wolf snake (कवड्या), trinket, buff stripped keelback (नानेटी) each once, bit me. First time I was learning from experts, to catch a lizard (सरडा), it too bit me. 🦎

All these bites were in less than 3 years time, while I was a teenager and may be had just hit 20. 

As a result, my visit to our GP doctor to get anti-tetanus injections were periodic and regular. 

Everytime I went to this Doctor Aunty, she would scold me and warn me not to play with such things. 

I always laughed and told her, "I am not going to ever touch any venomous snake, neither would learn to use the stick made to hold them." 😜🤷‍♀️

And yes, although I had a chance to learn / be trained to hold the venomous snakes, I never did. 😊 Reason in me, was strong enough to hold me back from getting into any life threatening, risky act. 

Snake lovers, snake experts, who hold the venomous snakes can call me a coward, but it is okay. My risk baring ability and choice stays with me. I respect their abilities and skills which help many people by way of their services as snake rescuers. 

Closest risky thing was after I got bitten by common wolf snake, which looks very similar to Common Krait (the cool blooded silent killer).  

I knew it was not the Krait, so did my snake expert friend Bhai Tarkar. But few minutes after the snake bit me, I asked him with real worry, "yaar yeh kahi Krait to nahi hain?". Bhai Tarkar laughed and said, " samjhega re, in less than 12 hours". 😂 

Jokes apart, he observed my behaviour for next 2-3 hours, did not allow me to take a nap but made me sit quietly. (That was a huge punishment for that enthusiastic teenager me, eager to talk to people about snakes). 

He disallowed me (that day after I was bitten by the wolf snake), from speaking about snakes to the people gathered in the Snake Exhibition organized by Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti, in which I was one of the active volunteers. (I was demonstrating the common wolf snake, who bit me. 😊)

My love for snakes has not changed. But my concern for people dying due to snake bites, snakes being killed by people out of fear, the rising roadkill cases of snakes, has only increased. It is more important than ever before to make people take action on climate change and ecological balance. 

Want to mention here few friends who have helped me as a guide, to make me learn about snakes and gave me books to read or organized awareness raising campaigns on snakes for people. These are Alka Joshi, Milind Joshi, Madhav Gokhale, Aneesh Patvardhan, Bapu Raut, Vivek Kashikar, Paresh Shah, Dr. Pankaj Gandhi, Vinayak Salve, Prabodh Dalvi among others. 

Bhai Tarkar and Ulhas Thakur, were too important part in this learning for me. Remembering Bipin Randive who recently died, for his conversations about snakes with all the others tagged in this post. 

Overcoming the fear of insects and snakes was a landmark in my journey as a teenager eager to learn, explore and do something which make me feel great. 

Greetings on the world Tiger Day 🐯🐅, to save all the beautiful people of the wild.