Bliss-Girls

Snakes occupy a prominent position in the cultural fabric of India. They are both revered and feared. There are temples dedicated to Snakes and many places have stone carvings of snakes. India has a rich tradition of snake folklore and myths. Stories of serpent kings, shape-shifting serpents, and their interactions with humans are prevalent in Indian literature and oral traditions. Alongside reverence, there is also fear associated with snakes in India. Many people have superstitions about encountering snakes and may perform rituals to ward off bad luck or harm from snakes.

There are many individuals work to rescue and rehabilitate snakes found in human habitats. Madhu is one such amazing woman who has been working on rescuing snakes in her neighbourhood. Madhu, born and brought up in Bangalore, has rescued 200 snakes so far. She has been an animal lover and had dogs and cats as pets at home. During her childhood days, she recollects bringing home street dogs and hiding it under bed so that she would not be asked to let the dogs go. Such was her love for animals. Her first encounter with a snake was when she was holidaying in Malaysia. She was visiting a zoo and got a chance to hold a python. She loved the feel of it. She dint find it creepy or slimy.

In 2014 she had just moved to a Talaghattapura, Bangalore. She was told about snakes entering residential premises by people in her neighbourhood. Madhu says that it is common to see snakes in her area because there are lot of open spaces which have been snakes territory for years. Madhu was returning after picking up her daughter from school when she first heard a commotion at security room in her apartment. When she went to enquire, she found a Cobra had entered the security room. Without much hesitation Madhu grabbed the snake’s tail, gently put the cobra in a container and rescued it. This is was her first encounter with wild snake. Since then people have been calling her to rescue snakes.

Madhu says she is not afraid of handling snakes. She uses a grabber and a hook to catch the snakes. She catches them and releases them in the nearby Turahalli forest. A snake will sense if you are anxious, she says. They do not attack unless they feel threatened. Madhu says that it is important to handle snakes with care and else their vertebrae can break.

In India we can find both venomous and non venomous snakes. Spectacled cobra, viper and common krait are the common venomous snakes while commonly found non venomous snakes are rat snake, common wolf, common Vine snake.

Among venomous snakes, She has rescued a lot of Russel Vipers and cobras. She has also been to Agumbe rain forest station to learn about handling a king cobra and hopes to rescue them one day.

Madhu’s husband Shodhan has been a great support and helps her in rescue operations. Rescue operations first begins when she gets a call. She asks the caller to take a picture of the snake. She then determines if its a venomous or non venomous snakes and advices people on the next course of action till the time she reaches the spot. Once on spot it usually takes 15-20 minutes for her to rescue the snake and then she releases them the same day into the forest.

Dear reader, I hope you have enjoyed this post. Kudos to Madhu for her bravery and her concern for snakes. A great few lessons for us to take away are

1. Being scared is just a state of mind and can be conquered with calmness.
2. We are part of nature and we ought to love, respect and care for other co-habitants.