Hundreds of people queued in a remote village in eastern India over
the weekend to receive blessings from metres-long and potentially
deadly snakes, thought to bring them good luck.
Snake charmers clapped and beat colourful drums to lure their
"prized catches" out of wicker baskets and clay pots, as part of an
annual festival in the village of Purba Bishnupur in West Bengal
state.
"It is an art to make the snakes come out of their boxes and
baskets," Hyder Mal, a 46-year-old snake charmer taking part in the
festival told AFP on Saturday.
The snakes, considered by the locals as incarnations of the Hindu
snake goddess Manasa, swayed to the rhythm and motion of their
handlers as the villagers drew closer.
Every year, people from the area gather in the green village some
85 kilometres (52 miles) from the state capital Kolkata, to honour
and pray to Manasa.
The goddess is believed to bring good luck ahead of the harvest
season and also ward off troubles in this mainly agricultural
belt.
Mal, a father of six, appears at ease as he handles a long
golden-brown cobra while urging the crowd gathered around to donate
freely.
"Business has gone down for us. People want to take blessings from
the snakes but are stingy when it comes to paying up," he
complained.
Mal, who owns six large serpents, reminisces of the time when
business was roaring, mainly because of the demand for venom used
to treat snake bites.
"Now we are living a life of penury. Synthetic venom is what is
used now. The government does not care about us," said Mal.
"I wouldn't want any of my children to carry on with our family
tradition," he added.
Charmers have long been a favourite with tourists in India. But
their numbers dwindled after the government strengthened laws in
2002 proscribing the commercial use of wild animals, including
performances with live snakes.
The legislation emptied most cities of charmers, although they can
still be found in rural areas, and also around major tourist sites,
risking arrest as they try to cajole visitors into taking a photo
for a small fee.
Animal rights activists accuse snake charmers of cruelly capturing
the serpents in suffocating bags and yanking their teeth out or
sewing their mouths shut so that they don't bite.
Mal and other snake charmers were quick to refute the charges.
"For us snakes are gods. We worship snakes, we would never want
them to suffer," said a 60-year-old charmer, who did not want to be
identified.
