The Hindu Business Line - The snake people of southern India

I was standing less than 3m away from a cobra, with only a short brick wall separating us. I couldn’t take my eyes off the hissing, striking, fully-grown king of snakes.

“We are trimming trees outside,” said Rajendran, calmly handling the cobra, one of India’s most venomous snakes, wearing only a loose cotton shirt and a faded lungi (sarong).

He guided the cobra towards a clay pot using a long metal rod with a smooth hook at the end. “The vibrations of that work are making the snake nervous.”

Known for their ancient and intimate knowledge of snakes, the Irula tribe’s skills form an important but nearly invisible part of the healthcare system in India.

Rajendran jumped into a sunken sandpit enclosed by a low brick wall, telling me to remain outside. A small raised platform in the centre of the pit had a simple blackboard with details of the snakes being held in the facility.

This was the venom extraction site.