Vishal handlinh a captured monocellate cobra |
The snake with glossy green back and yellowish white bottom
looks spectacular as it lies curled inside the plastic box. But just as soon as
its handler Vishal Satra waves a dead rat the ‘sleeping beauty’ raises its head
and snaps the rodent at an electric speed. Within seconds, it catches hold of
the rats head and injects the venom at a furious pace. Then it slowly gorges on
the rat. “It’s bamboo pit viper (Trimeresurus gramineus), beautiful but an
extremely venomous snake. It strikes with an open mouth,” says Satra while
closing the lid of the box and wrapping it with thick clothes.
Keeping the box on the rack he pulled out another plastic
box, and reached for the bucket filled with half a dozen dead rats. It was time
to feed other snakes in his snakehouse. For the last 13 years, Satra has been
relentlessly working with snakes and has built a snake rescue centre in
Shimultala, a village in Hooghly, about 60 km from Kolkata. “In the last six
years Vishal has rescued, treated and handed over to us thousands of snakes and
also saved many other local animals such as monkeys, palm civets and jackals.
Vishal along with his team are a great service for the wildlife”, informs Chittaranjan
Pramanik, the range officer of Hoogly. In addition to his conservation work,
Vishal is studying for a Masters degree in environmental science from Rabindra
Bharati University, Kolkata. He says, “From my childhood I was fascinated by
snakes. It’s my dream to be a herpetologist and a wildlife conservationist,
“says Vishal.
From his very childhood, when Vishal’s family lived in
Imphal, Manipur, he was involved in wildlife conservation. Unaware of the
definition of conservation he and his friends used to buy rabbits, porcupines
and other animals from tribal women and release them in the forest close his
home. His childish acts were driven by pure sympathy for those “poor
creatures”. “Later when I grew up I bought the animals and handed them over to the
Imphal Zoo authority. This lasted till we shifted to Hoogly with my family for
higher studies”, says Vishal.
He missed the wilderness of Imphal in Shimultala, but in no
time was able build a rapport with local Snake charmers. “During the vacations
I roamed around with these snake charmers from a village to another. Slowly I
developed a bond with these people”, says Vishal while feeding a poisonous
Russell’s viper (Daboia russelii), capable of killing an adult human within an
hour. Vishal also noticed that local people killed snakes driven by sheer
apprehension and fear. “Even though I didn’t have any formal training in
handling snakes I started catching the hapless reptiles with a stick or a
polythene bag, whenever I was informed about a snake sighting. Fortunately I
still remain unbitten by a snake,” says Vishal with a big smile.
Russell Viper |
Vishal soon realized the need of a formal training in snake
handling, but he couldn’t find anybody who could teach him. “Then I came to
know of some snake charmers at Baruipur. To meet them I’d often bunk school. At
first they refused to teach me anything, but finally they gave in to my
persistent appeal,” he adds. Gradually he learnt how these uneducated charmers
skilfully handled the reptiles. “I was astounded to see how they could read a
snake’s movement by examining just a few grains of sand in front of the snake’s
hole”, he says. Then he met with Kajal Mal, an expert charmer, who trained him
the techniques of handling cobras.
From 2005 Vishal felt the urge to form a group of
conservationists with like-minded people. Eventually in 2006 he formed a group
named ‘Shimultala Conservationists’. Says Prashanta Bagal, an active member of
the group, “Whenever we heard about a snake sighting we rushed there to rescue
it.” Adds Vishal, “During the rescue we’d often come across crowds of curious
local people. We used the opportunity to promote our activities and spread the
message of snake conservation among them.”
Says Prasanta, “People come to us to learn how to handle
snakes, but most of them want to get a thrill out of it. It’s kind of a macho
act for the youth. Vishal sends them to Kajal Mal to learn the nuances so that
the old man can earn some money from the training sessions.” Kajal Mal, 52, has
been working with Shimultala Conservationists for nine years. After 1991 when
snake charming was banned, the snake charmers were left jobless. “Snake
charming was the only way of earning my daily bread. If Vishal wouldn’t have
helped, and I’d have starved to death along with my family,” said Kajal Mal.
Vishal treating a cobra with Kajol Mal |
Right now Vishal has got associated with Dr. Anthony Gomes,
a leading researcher of Pharmacology & Toxicology of Venoms and Toxins at
Calcutta University to hone his expertise on snake. But his ultimate aim is to
rehabilitate the ‘traditional scientists” (snake charmers) and help them join
the mainstream.