"Snakeman" performs his last act, unattended

He for one never had time to think of all this. After every performance, satisfied with the coins thrown by the enthralled crowd,Parthasarathy thoughts would dive into thinkng what his next act would be; life was one seemingly impossible act after another.

Of late, the mystery man was leading the life of a showman. He used to perform at public places and festival grounds to eke out a living. And seldom did the masses realise that the man who had just chewed down a block of ice weighing more than a kilogram also held the record for remaining without batting an eyelid for 33 hours and 10 minutes; for walking forward continuously for 15 days, 11 hours and 45 minutes; walking backwards 430 km in 47 hours and 40 minutes; for pushing a green pea with his nose for three miles in 11 hours; for rolling up and down the Tirupathi hills with hundreds of scorpions meandering through his body, etc.

The rendezvous with Parthasarathy at Alandurai slums was a surprise. For, we, who were looking for a magician in silk, encountered an villager, whose passion for snakes had brought him there “to learn the tricks of catching snakes fromtribals”.

He then settled there after marrying a local tribal. Parthasarathy dreamt of bringing up his son in his footsteps. The boy was given regular exercises to reach the desired physical standards in order to “perform” better than his father. He cherished another dream much dearer — of entering the Guinness Book of World Records.

Sadly, the main hurdle was his financial condition. “They (Guinness committee) demand video cassettes as proof or certification of a panel of judges comprising responsible Government officials and leading citizens. How can a poor man like me organise all these,” he pointed out.

“If given a chance to perform in front of the Guinness, I can create at least 60 records in a month,” he claimed. His dreams never materialised for want of sponsors. Had any prospective sponsor taken the time to rummage through the pages of Parthasarathy’s records, the story would have been different. For the pages contained about 100 of his feats, including eating two kg of red hot chilliesand 500 gm of salt, drinking a quarter litre of neem oil, etc.

In fact, these “items” had actually cost Parthasarathy a fortune. “I had to spend a lot on medicines as all these result in serious stomach problems. Anti-venom injections also are expensive.” “I read in papers that people waited for hours to enter the hall to see me living with 400 snake. But in the end the organisers gave me a few thousand rupees and a train ticket; and of course, detailed statistics,” he said with a smile.

The balance sheet of Parthasarathy was a blank. His earnings: An old bag full of paper cuttings and faded photographs. And he never had any complaints. “Those who have money have no fame and those with fame, no money.” That was his philosophy.