The Story of Snake Shyam : The Final Episode

I first met Snake Shyam in 2007. At the time, he had already rescued more than sixteen thousand snakes, had made it to the Guiness Book of Records and had already been featured on the National Geography channel. But the irony of it was that the hero of the city of palaces, of Mysore, earned his bread and butter as a driver. Snake Shyam took school children back and forth in his mini van for a living. It was fascinating nevertheless to watch him at work; untiring, unyielding , always there for the rescue, always ready to go wherever his mission took him at his own expense, with his limited means. The snake population of India seemed to have slithered into the city were Snake Shyam lives; for his mobile rings perpetually throughout the day with pleas to rescue snakes that strayed into houses, shops, garages etc. He would simply get into his van, drive to the spot, rescue the snake and keep it in his house until the weekend when he releases all the snakes in the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary.

B. S Balasubramanya aka Snake Shyam at work

He never missed a chance to educate the people around him about the species he is so fascinated with. In his words, he is more concerned about what people might do to the snakes that strays into their spaces than what the snakes might do to the people. He religiously marks every visit he makes in his register and gets the signature, address and contact details of the concerned person. Rarely he is paid a token amount for his expenses for fuel for his mini van. I couldn't help feel terrified as i watched him scour through the pile of cardboxes searching for a king cobra that was hiding somewhere in the depths of the pile of junk without any protection whatsoever. But he seemed confident and knew what he was doing. People always gather around to watch the spectacle of a mortal human being trying to catch menacing serpents whose single bite could prove to be lethal. He uses a simple homemade device (made out of an old racket and cotton pillow covers) to catch the snakes. Snake Shyam has had two serious snake bites so far and the doctors have warned him that a third snake bite would prove to be fatal. When he is not on thr un rescuing snakes and when he is not transporting children to school and back home, Snake Shyam spends his time in schools getting children to understand the creatures he has dedicated his life to. He says his first encounter with a snake happened when he was a kid and has nurtured an affection for the majestic creatures ever since. His words of wisdom about nature and its sustenance seem to carry more weight in the minds of the crowds that gather than any environmentalist could ever hope for. In Mysore, Snake Shyam is a household name, a hero. See the full story here and an interesting article i found on the web about Snake Shyam here.

The Weavers of a Forgotten Colony

We were at Melkote, about 40km from Mysore on the Bangalore-Mysore highway working on some travel stories, when we came across a small colony with a tradition of 100 years of weaving. There were about 18 houses in the colony and each house was furnished with at least one ancient handloom. I love the way one story leads to another. And i love the way our villages welcomes its guests. The artisans were more than delighted to tell us their stories. The Mysore Silk Board authorities provides them with raw silk yarn which these artists weave into beautiful handwoven sarees or dhotis. These products are then sold through 'Priyadharshini Handloom', a Government enterprise. For some inscrutable reason, i had always assumed that Mysore Silk meant handwoven silk. But of course, this isn't the case. My weaver friends tell me that most of the Mysore Silk Sarees are produced in the Mysore Silk Factory which is quickly eating up their livelihood. Narasimha Shetty (55) has been weaving Dhotis and Sarees for 40 years. He can weave a silk dhoti in two days. It will fetch him Rs.180/-. The market price for a pure silk dhoti being Rs. 1500/- and above. Weaving, is obviously a laborious task which seldom forgives a mistake made by a weaver. A flawed weave would mean paying up the cost of the raw silk. The powerloom on the other hand is more profitable, less labour intensive and the Government cared little about the poor weavers. The Silk Board authorities says that most of the production cost (of a pure silk garment) is acquired in the cost of the basic material itself. A standard roll of silk yarn (enough to weave 6m of saree) costs Rs. 1500/- and above. The beautiful Mysore silk sarees that women love to flaunt takes three to four days to weave in the handloom. The artisan gets Rs.350/- per saree which is then sold for Rs.3000/- and above in the market. According to the artisans, the texture is finer (as compared to those woven using the powerloom in the factories) and their designs remain true to their age old traditions. "Feel the texture... Dont you feel the softness on the skin? We are artists.. and these are our creations. " Venkataramana Shetty is 86 years old. He has been weaving ever since he was a boy. His 55 year old son is carrying on the tradition. But his grand children wants to work in the cities. His family tells me that he worries about his dying craft more than his health. Out of the eighteen houses in the colony, there wasn't a single home in which the next generation wanted to carry on weaving. I suppose the handloom industry would not cease to exist when the descendants of these artisans move away from the craft. But it is sad to think of an age old craft disappearing into oblivion from this beautiful village of Melkote.

India in a Capsule?

"India is ALL about colours," a friend (from abroad) stated. I wonder...

From My Travel Diary : Srirangapattanam 2009

Our guide had eerie stories to tell about Tippu's torture chambers @ Tippu Sultan's Fort, Srirangapattanam

If only walls could talk... (inside Tippu's Fort) We were on our way to the fort when we inadvertently landed in front of this beautiful mosque. Our all-knowing guide didn't wait for too long before he dished out his tall tales of how Tippu Sultan used to come to this Mosque for solitude. Whether his story was authentic or not, i couldn't help thinking that there is indeed something serene about the mosque which could capture anybody's imagination.

My first vision of the Gumbaz. Where lies the tombs of Hyder Ali and Tippu Sultan. The crowd outside the Gumbaz.

From My Travel Diary : Ranganthittu 2009

I'm not someone you would exactly describe as a nature enthusiast. But visiting a wildlife sanctuary is not a punishment to me either. These are some of my pictures from the Ranganthittu Wildlife & Bird Sanctuary (20km away from Mysore). I did end up having a lot of fun that day.

I do not quite know the name of this bird. But he sure was quite a funny fellow. He had made it his business to scratch his neck sitting right there for a good 5 mnts!!

The crocs in the sanctuary were sun bathing when we visited them. This particular one seemed to have chosen the Stork's backside to rest his massive head though. Not even the (toy) gun wielding unruly bunch of kids on the other boat could provoke him enough to move an eyelid.

This lovey-dovey couple was on honeymoon on top of that tree.

I know quite a lot of trees can look menacing. But this one looked like Einstein's-hairdo-gone-worse to me!!

A family that prays together stays together. Nope, I'm not exaggerating. I could swear by the Gods of the Great Storks, that this family was deep in meditation, dwelling in a feeling of oneness!! ;)

From My Travel Diary : Mysore 2009

Dwaraiswami, Aarumugam and Maaddamma , the house keeping staff of the Dasprakash Hotel, Mysore strike a pose for me.

"The smoke will look good when lit by the sunlight," Dwaraiswami observes.

His shop is right outside the famous Dasprakash hotel in Mysore. He is so much a part of his little shop that its difficult to imagine the space without him in it or to imagine him outside it. K. Hariprasad Rao has been living in Mysore for about 50 years now. He is 72yrs old. His son is in Kothamangalam (Kerala) and his daughter is a teacher in Bangalore. K. Kariprasad Rao on being alone - "Health is important not age. "