This I came across in one of the ancient temples in Rameshwaram (also referred to as benaras of south). You can donate a statue of snake- installed in the premise with name and date!. This is new to me, I know of whole pond being devoted to snakes like ‘sarpa cavu’ where I have seen scores of snakes. I have encountered cobra in my hometown, one even on the bed in the old family home, it was a relatively big ancient house with wooden panels with huge storing spaces where nobody dared go, unfortunately demolished and sold in pieces and replaced by small brick house as people went through serious financial problems.
Snakes till recently I considered as mysterious and dangerous creatures but thanks to some excellent programs in TV Channels like National Geography, Animal Planet they are fairly demystified. They are simply amazing. So you have King cobra- it is magnificent, to aggressive Russell viper- that kill lots of people in subcontinent, new info for me, then you have snakes from other region like cotton mouth, copper head, spiting cobra (charming snake that one), inland taipe- the most venomous but shy Australian snake. But the snake to watch out for is black mamba of
King cobra though remains my favorite, there is something majestic about it. It is for no reason that forefathers saw them as God and gave them so much respect. Cobras were rarely killed-atleast the older generation severely reprimand any such attempts. Of course this was not for environmental reason but mostly associated with myth and superstitions. The fact that finally the end result has benefited sustainability is to be noted. Clearly there were some smart wise people who realized this in ancient times itself and tried to inculcate this into psyche of people. It is a tribute to them that ‘cavu’ are existing even today. The flip side is superstition used for manipulation and fooling people in the name of faith. But yes I do hope even if people are educated and rational a certain bit of myth doesn’t losses out (Theory of evolution may explain lot of things in our surrounding but it is not a complete theory-it is true to a large extend and cannot be denied. There is a space of creationist belief if we put things in perspective they really shouldn’t be any dispute).
Things have changed though in last few decade, I recall I was traveling in bus some years back in south Kerala and sitting next to the driver and this snake (it looked like a rat snake-that characteristic yellow belly) was trying to wriggle through the highway, the driver without much thought squashed it.
Post Script: …continuing with Romila Thappar, it was when I finally came across Osho that things got clear. These vandals in Right or secular fundamentalists of Left will never get it. The game is about power and clout, they know what works what don’t. It is about licking as the situation demands and trying to influence the west. Government needs to make laws stricter when it comes to religious symbols on the lines of national flag. Ideas can be disputed (hence creative space) not symbols. There are things sacred for millions of people, if stifled with can cause severe reactions, taking things out context for market consumption will be resisted. Babalog (city based activism) might say in
