living with snakes?

LIVING WITH SNAKES
   Living with  snakes ? Unbelievable? But yes it is true . And where else but in a country known to the western world as country of  elephants , of  snake charmers and  of magic.,. It is  in a village called  Chotto Pashla.  The number of  people living in  this village is 600 and that of snakes 3000 .One snake for two people?. And  most of these snakes are  poisonous monocled  cobras  and  surprisingly  no one seems to be afraid of them . In fact the women worship them . In a  country where myths and mysteries  are woven around every monument ,temple  or place , there is a local lore about  how these snakes came to this village.  It is said that these snakes came en masse  the village  during floods   six centuries ago .The people here say  that the snakes considered the representatives of a Goddess  have helped the village to prosper!  No wonder that the  the people not only  feed them with milk ,worship them  but also  perform their last rites.  It is not that no one has been bitten by these snakes. Almost a dozen people die of snake bites  here every year . The villagers  rely on the traditional medicines  to cure  people bitten by these snakes. Well a unique village where cobras coexist with human beings! But then India  is a strange land !
 PUBLISHED IN THE HINDU  DAILY  ON SEPTEMBER 3RD 2007