SUNDAY TIMES (London, UK) 02 October 05 Snake charmers hear call of a new career (Amrit Dhillon)
Delhi: India’s snake charmers are to be retrained as wildlife teachers or used to round up unwanted reptiles under a plan to prevent their unique skills and knowledge from being lost.
The charmers, who entice cobras and vipers to dance to the sound of flutes, used to be a traditional feature of Indian life, performing in towns and villages, until they were banned in 1972 in a drive to curb the trade in snake skins.
The government is now considering a plan to train the saperas, as they are known, to visit schools and zoos to tell children about forests and wildlife. There is also a proposal to set up a “dial a snake charmer” service to help householders to deal with unwelcome intruders.
“For generations they have been a feature of Indian life but now they can’t earn a living for fear of arrest,” said Behar Dutt, a conservationist behind the plans. “If a policeman doesn’t catch them, animal rights activists report them.”
The proposed telephone service, still at the planning stage, could be especially popular with wealthy businessmen plagued by snakes on weekend visits to their farmhouses outside Delhi, Dutt believes. The problem is at its peak during the monsoon, when the snakes emerge above ground.
Many snake charmers have continued to work clandestinely since the ban, despite the threat of up to three years in jail. But their trademark cloth-covered baskets, suspended from a bamboo pole carried across their shoulders, make them an easy target for police.
Some beg or take their snakes on to crowded buses and intimidate passengers into paying them to go away. Complaints from commuters have prompted police crackdowns and “snake raids”.
The fate of Shisha Nath, 56, from Badarpur, a village just outside Delhi, is typical of practitioners of the dying art. Dressed in classic garb of loose orange robes and turban with a been — a flute made from the bitter gourd plant — in his lap, he reminisced last week about the successful business he used to operate, performing to crowds on a busy street corner.
“I used to earn enough to support my family and send my children to school,” he said. “Now it’s hard to earn even £1 a day. My children want to be snake charmers. It’s our identity. We love the work. But it’s become impossible.”
Next month Dutt’s pilot project to train 30 snake charmers will begin at a snake park in Pune, western India, where herpetologists will complement their home-grown skills with some formal knowledge.
“I’m looking forward to learning more about looking after snakes and wildlife,” said Rishipal Nath, 27. “If I get regular work and an income, I’ll be very pleased.”
More than the law, though, it is the hypocritical attitude of their fellow countrymen that angers many snake charmers.
“We’re harassed all the time but when people want a snake removed from the house, they rush to us,” said Prakash Nath, who was summoned recently to the home of Sonia Gandhi, the Congress party leader.
Snake charmers hear call of a new career