Slithering Sam, Nosy Naga and a Russel's Viper

Its funny isn't it? You plan to write a blog post on some topic and you keep building it in your mind and all of a sudden, you end up writing something else. Thats precisely what happened to me today. I had actually planned something else but who could forego the opportunity to write something this interesting (and a bit sad too)...

If you're wondering what this title means, its about 3 snakes'4 visits to our house in 3 months. Yes, I'm a man of adventure but this is no adventure. Its 'snakeventure'

The first one was a 6 foot, 2 inch thick black cobra, which my brother named Sam. To read about it click here.

The second one was a Russel's Viper. In case if you didn't know, a Russel's Viper is one of the most deadliest snakes in the world and is more poisonous than a cobra. It was a Sunday night and i had gone to the bus stand to pick up my cousin who was returning from a trip. I dropped him at my grandparents' place and returned home. It was 11 pm. I parked my vehicle and was about to enter my house when i noticed something just below the doorstep. It did not require a second look to identify it as a snake. Lucky Heaven! I could've stepped on it. Now i stood there in shock and confirmed that it indeed was a snake. I was just a feet away from it. I carefully climbed the 3 doorsteps and went inside. My mom was asleep and my bro was watching Kill Bill (whatta movie for the situation!). The moment i told him of the snake, he stood upright on the sofa. My mom woke up and we went out with a torch. Now we were able to see it clearly. It was a Russel's Viper man! But not so long. One and a half feet and half an inch thick. As we were flashing the torch, it began to move slowly. My mom began to panic as if it went to the backyard of our house, it'd be very difficult to coax it out then. I contemplated the idea of killing it but couldn't muster up the courage to do it. It slowly slithered into the motor compartment. we knew then that it'd be impossible to get it now as it was almost 11:30 pm and we were the only ones awake. So we tightly shut our door and went to sleep. The next morning, we searched the place fully but we couldn't find it. It had apparently left the place to who knows where. It couldn't be spotted inside our entire campus and that eased our nerves a bit. That was my adventure with the Russel's Viper.

Now to the more interesting part. It was around 7:30 pm yesterday. I was busy browsing and checking mails and my mom was sitting in the hall, reading. Now there is a sit-out beyond our hall and a Netlon door separates it. Our cat Buddy Boy rests in the chairs in the Sit-Out.The sit-out leads to the doorsteps and there is cemented flooring beyond, which leads to our gate. For a split second, both my mom and i noticed Buddy Boy rushing out of his seat and we heard a huge HISS. My brother, who was busily studying till then, went out and noticed Buddy Boy staring at something near the betel plant. I went out and even from the small bit of scales that was visible, we were able to figure out that it was a snake. We flashed our torch and then he(or she) showed his face. It was a cobra. Oh my God! This was long - about 4 and a half feet and about an inch thick. For a moment, we thought it was Sam. But no; Sam was longer and thicker. Now our main concern was the same as that with the Viper, that it should not go to our backyard. Buddy Boy was seen trying to get near it. He is a brave cat and i've seen him brutally kill a 2 feet snake two years ago. But this was no mere snake. It was a cobra. Too hot even for him to handle. So we took him in to safeguard him. He didn't mind for thats where he yearned to be, always.

Meanwhile Naga (yes, thats what i've named him) had other plans. He had two ways to go. One towards our backyard; the other towards our gate. He turned in the direction of our gate and proceeded a few yards forward. We quickly seized the opportunity. My brother quickly climbed on to the compound wall nearby and i mustered up all my courage and went towards the gate slowly, without being sighted by Naga, and opened it. Now our duty was to coax him out of the gate. I suggested that my mom bring some water mixed with asafoetida, as snakes hate that smell. She brought out the water and my bro, standing on the compound wall, poured the water over it. It immediately evoked a response as it began to slither away towards the gate. Since the gate was open, it smoothly slithered out. I wasted no time in closing the gate shut. There is a huge bush opposite our house (which is the source and a safe haven for these snakes)and Naga disappeared into the bushes.

Right from early morning today, we were wondering how it had got in in the first place, as there were no gaps through which it can come in and the gap that existed earlier had also been fixed. Imagine you kept thinking of a person and the person suddenly showed up. Thats what happened to me today. It was about 1:30 pm today and i was standing near the sit-out and was wondering how the heck Naga came in. I did not wait long to know the answer for at that very moment he came in through the tiniest of gaps, that i never knew existed. Yes, there have been coincidences in my life, but none as surprising as this. I was dumbstruck. I was alone in my house and before i could think of anything, he quickly made it to the betel plant by taking the exact same path through which he left yesterday. Looks like he had left a trail behind. Now i was confused. I had to act quickly, else he would go to the backyard and that would mean double trouble. I went in and took a mug full of water mixed with asafoetida. But before i could use it on him, he quickly went inside the motor compartment. I was both horrified and relieved. Horrified coz it'd be really difficult to drive him out now; relieved coz he'd stay there for the time being and wouldn't loiter around. Now i had to decide what had to be done.

The Coimbatore Fire Service Department had a special team trained to capture snakes and i had read about their exploits in the newspaper. When Sam came, i called them. But they couldn't come then as they had no transport and were willing to come if we picked them up. Thinking that they would be better equipped this time around, i called them. What useless call it turned out to be! The reason that they gave today was appalling and it angered me. My house is just 2 kms away from the Corporation city limits and these fellows only attend to calls if it's within the city limits it seems. Isn't it appalling? Does that mean that we are supposed to take the snake into city limits and then call them? Bah! I once considered them to be heroes. Not any more.

Running out of options, i called my mom. She suggested that i take the help of some people nearby and try to drive it out. But even if we were to drive it out, its going to come again for it had developed a fondness for that place. Our neighbours, who had come out by then suggested that it is better to kill it as they were very disturbed by previous day's events and were very afraid to go out. I called my grandparents' house as there was some construction work going on and there were many construction workers nearby. Soon my grandpa came, accompanied by two workers. Catching snakes alive requires tremendous skills and these workers certainly did not have that. They said they could kill it but could not capture it alive. Also driving it out would be of no use as it would come again. I like snakes and i hate killing them. I had seen enough documentaries on Snakes in Discovery and NGC. So i felt it was my duty to protect them. But on this occasion, i had to agree that there was no other option but to kill it as the motor compartment was not the best place to capture or drive out snakes; there was nobody who could capture it alive and Naga, having developed a taste for the place, would surely visit the place again. With a heavy heart, i agreed.

One of the workers opened the motor compartment with a stick, and through a small gap, he managed to kill it by striking it repeatedly. Once killed, Naga was taken out, buried (cremation proved futile) and his last rites were performed by pouring a glass of milk over his cemetry. Thus ended the life of Naga.

I prayed to the Almighty for forgiveness. Though i wasn't directly involved, it pained me to see him die the way he did. It was something that was unavoidable, especially after the Fire Service failed us. I hope and pray that Naga rests in peace. Even my mom felt remorseful but nothing could be done. I am pretty sad right now but couldn't help it. If there is someone who is to be blamed for the whole thing, then it has to be the Fire Service Dept. Hope they act more sensibly next time around so that these snakes and humans can be saved (yes, there is an equal probability of human deaths occurring too).

Ok friends, see you all soon. I'll come up with a cheerful post (that i had originally intended to post) very soon. Till then, its bye from me. Bbye...