Worldly Charms

Bhise has taught the craft to a willing apprentice in Mangesh Disale and his 12-year-old son and doesn’t clamp to catch snakes,as most people do. “A simple stick with a curve at one end is enough. All that I do is circle the animal a few times to let it know that I don’t intend on harming it. Then all that is there to be done is to go and push the head of the reptile to the ground and then twirl it around the stick and bag it,” he explains.

While his method might sound easy it is anything but that. Till date he has been bitten by a lot of them,primarily because he has been unable to control their anger but none of them have been poisonous. “We have worked with so many of them that we can just run our hands on them or even identify by their look,whether they are poisonous or not,” he says. Till date,he has caught 2032 cobras

“They are of various types like the ones with marks on their hoods,the non-hooded ones,the spitting ones as well as the ones that just strike without warning,” he says. But,according to him,what is important is to understand their mood. “Also a lot of people who catch the snakes,break off their fangs but I have never done that. They need to inject their venom into a prey so that they can eat it. It also breaks down the food so that they can digest it. Without their teeth they are as helpless as their prey. Besides,who will feed them?” he asks.

Bhise says he only asks the people to pay for his travelling expenses but if the people are poor,he forgoes that too. However,he is strict about certain things. For instance,he never shows the snake to people,once it is bagged. “There is a danger to the snake and to the people also. We don’t risk that. We have even had people coming to ask us to sell the snake venom to them but we turn them away. Bhise and his team have been given badges by the PCMC that certifies them as ‘Friends of Animals’. In addition they are also in touch with the Haffekein Institute that works towards making antidotes for the snake venom.

Commenting on his prize catch,a Daman,that his team chased for almost five hours,he says,“When we caught it,we were amazed to see its size. It was 11-feet long. Perhaps there has been nothing more grand or awe-inspiring. Probably a King cobra.”