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one for the day, I
was closing the door before going to bed.
But how come I couldn’t do so? I
looked down to check what was obstructing the door. I did not find anything. But when I looked up, what was it that I saw!
A crawling reptile comfortably perched on the door!!
My heart skipped a beat or two. I screamed as loud as I could and ran for
life inside the house. Sensing some trouble, my husband and two kids rushed out
of their rooms. Children were panic
stricken at the very sight of the creature. However, my husband put up a brave face. Adding
to the woes, was his over enthusiasm to catch the snake. All of us
were dissuading him from taking such a drastic step. If he was taking a step ahead to catch the slippery
creature, his kids were pulling him two steps back !!
Went out frantic calls to neighbours
against the wishes of the man of the house. Aware of the risk involved in the job, neighbours
started trickling in one by one for courtesy sake, if not for anything else. Everyone was taking a glance at the snake and
giving judgments. Someone identified it as a viper, yet another as a krait.
Someone suggested bludgeoning and burning it. All through, my husband who does
not want to harm such creatures was against killing it. I for one, who has learnt to identify snakes
in theory, was petrified at the very sight of a living specimen. Finally it was identified as a young one of a
python.
The man of the house was hell-bent on
catching it. Nothing could deter him from his mission. He slowly pushed the
snake down on the floor. A neighbor offered to help him. His wife called him
out to be extra careful. Another gentleman who was trying to mask his timidness
with brave front hushed her up saying “nothing to worry, keep quiet. “ Even in that moment of crisis, I could make
out his voice shaking, obviously, out of fear. Still he had taken upon himself
the job of offering verbal solace to the frightened souls.
Aided by the neighbour my husband was able
to push the snake into a sack using a stick. Pronto the sack’s mouth was tied with a
rope. Now the python had a scooter ride
with both of them. It was let out safely at some distance from our house. My young son who was scared to the bone all the
while, was mightily impressed with his father at the end. He shook his hand
many times and declared “ I will make my dad famous in my school
tomorrow”.
Now I have become a bit weary while moving
around the house, looking up too, sometimes.
Many have told that the python visiting a house is a good omen. I am waiting endlessly since then for the
“good” to happen to us. The good seems
to be more slippery than the snake itself.
Buoyed by his apparent success, my husband
has all set to start a snake catching service.
The name, already, chosen: Takshak.
--- Sanoor Indira Acharya
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