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For Annamalai, catching snakes is a hobby from which he derives immense satisfaction by saving the lives of people as well as the snakes, writes PRATHIBHA PARAMESWARAN.
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SNAKES HAVE always been part of Indian mythology and snake charmers have always held an important place in the country's folk tradition. Majority of professional snake charmers still eke out a living in villages. But for a few like K.V.Annamalai, a railway employee of Tiruchi, snake charming - though strange -- is a passionate hobby.
A native of Kalasapakkam in Tiruvannamalai district, Mr.Annamalai currently residing at Golden Rock, has indeed managed to make a mark through his apparently risky pastime.
At 46, he has captured over 5,000 snakes. Many residents in the Golden Rock Railway Colony owe their lives to this man who has mastered every movement and pace of different types of snakes.
Snakes are frequent visitors to the area, surrounded by stretches of shrubs. Often one finds a venomous cobra or a rat snake sneaking into houses or curling around in kitchens. But, anyone can be sure of help at any hour from Mr. Annamalai, who rushes to the spot to nab the creepy intruder. He has even got a pair of forks and a hook designed like those shown in `Animal Planet' and `Discovery Channel,' to catch the reptiles. For him, catching snakes is a hobby from which he derives immense satisfaction by saving the lives of people as well as the snakes.
What happens to the snakes, you may ask. Mr. Annamalai says he hates to kill these invertebrates. Most of the times, he manages to capture the snakes alive. "There is no challenge in dealing with a dead creature," he says. But when he comes across vipers, he kills them immediately because they are highly venomous. Others including cobras and rat snakes are kept in perforated plastic bottles in his house. Once he collects more than a dozen snakes, they are handed over to the Guindy Snake Park in Chennai.
And till they are guests in Mr.Annamalai's house, they are fed on chickens, toads and rats.
Mr. Annamalai took to the strange hobby of catching snakes in early 80s. Hailing from the Kattu Naikkan tribe, he used to occasionally accompany his father on hunting expeditions. Though the tribe was involved in hunting activities for long, Mr.Annamalai's is the only one family interested in snake baiting.
He has also learnt to prepare herbal remedies for snakebites. And now his son, Manikandan, has taken after him and accompanies him whenever the need arises.
Mr. Annamalai, who works as a Crane Jamedar in the Railway Department, has been officially recognised as a snake charmer and granted a pass by the Railways to take a break to attend to emergencies, when it is required of him. "I do it at my own risk", he says, "I would still be marked absent if something happens to me while dealing with a snake."
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