‘Don't kill them, they're part of environment': Snake-catcher father-daughter duo

Indian Express

15 hours ago

'Main teri dushman, dushman tu mera, main nagin, tu sapera….'
Both of them love to hear this Lata Mangeshkar song picturised on Sridevi in the 1986 movie Nagina, and both of them love to catch snakes.
Jatinder Kumar, alias Ballu, 43, has studied up to Class 10 and started catching snakes when he was 8; Damini, alias Manasi, 19, is in BA second year and began picking up snakes when she was 15 — against her father's wishes.
'She used to accompany me when I went on my missions. I would catch snakes, and she would make videos. Then, one day, she told me she wanted to catch them as well. I dissuaded her but she did not listen to me,' says Kumar.
The father-daughter duo from Rampur village of Himachal Pradesh's Una district have mastered the art of rescuing the reptiles — as well as the people. 'No one taught me how to do it. I learned myself. And I didn't teach my daughter. She learned herself from watching me,' says Kumar.
Kumar, who stands six feet tall, and Damini, who has a height of 5 feet 6 inches, have caught snakes of various lengths, the smallest being as long as a hand and the longest being a python measuring 13-14 feet.
'It was a dangerous python roaming around the government school at Dhusara village. We had to struggle a lot to catch it,' says Kumar.
Their daredevilry has been awarded by the district administration. 'My father was honoured by Deputy Commissioner Jatin Lal and I was honoured by Lal's predecessor Raghav Sharma,' says Damini, showing pictures of their felicitation.
The rainy season, when snake sightings are high, is a busy time for the father-daughter duo. 'We keep getting phone calls till late into the night,' says Kumar.
They spring into action the moment a phone call comes, and apply their standard operating procedure. They ask the caller the colour of the snake and tell them dos and don'ts. 'Our brief message is: don't worry, we're coming,' says Kumar, who was regularised as a chowkidar in the DC office two years ago.
They ride their bike to the site carrying their devices — steel sticks given by a doctor from Kerala and special long airy boxes made to order. After the rescue, they release the snake in the forest. 'Mostly we collect the snakes at home and release them together,' says Kumar.
The monetary reward is saved for the future. 'Whatever money we get we don't spend on ourselves. We deduct the fuel charges and keep the rest for the annual bhandara we organise at our home,' says Kumar. 'When the poor offer us something, we flatly refuse.'
They worship Kaal Bhairav, a form of Lord Shiva, and run a YouTube channel under this name. 'We went viral three-four years ago,' says Kumar.
The bottomline of every video of theirs is: Don't kill snakes, they are part of the environment. They also advise people to keep their lights outside their houses on at night and seek medical aid in case of a snake bite. 'Anti-venom injections are vital. They should be administered as soon as possible,' says Kumar. 'There are three dangerous species of snake: Common krait, cobra and russell's viper. Of all the snake-bite deaths in Una district, the maximum are caused by the russell's viper.'
The father, who is a great fan of Amitabh Bachchan, and the daughter, who has watched all episodes of Naagin serial on Colors, have never killed any snake. They have to scour the unlikeliest places in search of snakes: beds and commodes. Once a snake gave them a tough time due to the walls full of holes, big and small. The end result: they had to pull down the entire hut at Samoor Kalan village. 'I felt very bad for the poor old woman. While coming back, I gave her money,' says Kumar. 'Soon, God came to her rescue. When my video went viral, a property dealer from Mehatpur stepped forward and built a new small house for her. I thanked God from the bottom of my heart for this small mercy.'
Kumar has a small dream: To build a snake-bite hospital. 'Many people die of snake bites. They don't get timely help. Local doctors keep consulting me when they get such cases. If I get enough resources, I will definitely build a snake-bite hospital one day and name it after Kaal Bhairav,' says Kumar. 'I love animals and love to save lives.'