The Ssssnake man of Pannimade

by Rajesh Thomas

Prelude : This piece was the first one in which I had put my thoughts on paper - after repeated attempts by three of my close friends to make me write. It was published in my annual family in house magazine “Stars & Sands". Later on, after it got published, I refined the article further and made the end a bit more interesting. 
In case my relatives are wondering if it is the same story, yes it is, but please do read on; the ending is different!!

Let me start with a disclaimer. As much as this story is about snakes, it is also about one of the many fascinating and colorful characters that I have come across in the plantations. This said, many of us have a deep aversion for snakes. Even a lone elephant, late at nights on the motorcycle at has not scared me as much as snakes do. Coincidentally, almost everyone hates snakes but almost everyone has a snake story to relate.

I had just taken charge of an estate named Pannimade (The estate for the most part of the year was perpetually covered in mist and hence the Tamil name “Panni & Medu” meaning mist covered mountain) in the Annamallai hills. It was a very pretty estate comprising of small rolling hills and situated on the banks of the Sholayar dam. Incidentally, when the dam was built, it submerged almost half the estate.

Athirapally falls. Pic from the Native Planet website

On the western side, bordering the estate was the thick verdant evergreen rainforest of Chalakudi which was infested with leeches and elephants. A single track ghat road wound its way down to the plains of Kerala passing by the picturesque Athirapally falls. An interesting feature of this road was that all the  milestones used to be painted black to prevent elephants from uprooting them. Elephants have a deep aversion to the colour white, especially in the dark, including white colour cars.

So there in this estate lived a worker named Thangavelu, whose claim to fame was his expertise at catching any snake, both venomous and non-venomous. Hence he was bestowed the title “Pambu Thangavelu” by his fellow workers.

"Pambu" means a snake in Tamil. I had heard many a tale about him from my colleagues when I had worked in the nearby estates. So after I had moved in, I was keen to meet him and one of the first things I did was to send for him. To my surprise, he was nothing like the snake catchers one sees on National Geographic or Animal Planet. He was an old man in his mid-fifties about five feet eight inches tall, dressed in khaki shorts and cotton shirt with a turban adorning his head.

The Pannimade snake man. He is seen here with a pair of common spectacled  cobras. The photo was taken on the lawn of the Pannimade Assistant managers Bungalow. Pic dated approximately 1992/93,  was taken and sent to me by my first manager Jose Thomas who was posted in Pannimade in those years.

At first sight, one could not discern anything special and it was actually a bit of a letdown as I had expected someone more imposing. As he greeted me politely, I started asking him about snakes. Slowly as the ice was broken I found out that he did indeed know a lot about snakes and their habits. The Field Officer who was with me asked him to catch a snake and show it to me.

I was a bit surprised by the instruction and I was wondering where he would catch a snake all of a sudden. Promptly Pambu Thangavelu disappeared into the tea field telling us to wait for about fifteen minutes. He reappeared after fifteen minutes with a common rat snake demurely coiled around his arm. He very proudly announced that it was a female (which incidentally I had no intention or means of checking, and had to believe his judgment).

The snake actually appeared shy and wouldn’t want to look at any one of us in the eye. And every time it tried to uncoil itself he would gently admonish it in Tamil like saying “Ai enge porai, suma iru” ( where are you going & keep still ) and the snake would obey him immediately. After about ten minutes he let go of the snake and looked beaming at me.It was quite an impressive show put on by the Snake Man and I thought that was the end of the whole thing little realizing that soon I will be witness to a bigger spectacle.

Some days later there was a big commotion in the Factory: a cobra was seen near the workers' restroom. The snake was chased and followed by some of the factory workers into a hole in a stone revetment (a wall made by loose stone rubble without cement to prevent embankments from falling).

Promptly the Snake Man was sent for and he arrived on the scene. Without wasting time the master started to work. He started to dismantle the stones near the hole where the cobra was last seen. Soon enough the cobra's head was seen. Incidentally, I realized that one of the old adages about a snake entering a hole, turning around and withdrawing its body behind was actually true as the cobra was facing the crowd. Now I thought that seeing itself cornered by the crowd, the cobra would lash out and try to escape and I among the crowd was preparing to put on my running shoes.

The crowd of estate workers had obviously seen the master in action, had full faith in him and were watching him confidently without moving from the spot. Then I realized that not only Pambu Thangavelu’s attire and personality was different from what I had seen on the television nature channels, his style of 'catching' was also different. He grabbed hold of a thin stick - the thickness of an average man's little finger - about one and a half feet length (none of the fancy Tongs which we see on television) and admonished the snake in Tamil like a stern schoolmaster admonishing his pupil.

The cobra literally cowered underneath that wisp of a stick and tried to get away. He then casually caught it and dragged it out of its hole. The cobra all the while did not try to be aggressive or try to escape. It was strangely submissive and obeyed him all the time. He kept talking to the snake in Tamil: at times he would admonish it and at times he would talk gently as if talking to a child. I still do not know what effect the talking had on the Cobra as snakes do not have any ears. Then the Snake Man tied a thin coir rope that is commonly called in Tamil as a “sanal kair” to its tail and proudly took it for a walk to the nearest jungle to release it there! The cobra followed him at his heel like a pet dog to the jungle.

After that, I decided that I would put the Snake Man through the ultimate test. The jungles to the west of the estate were supposed to have a sizable population of king cobras so I summoned him and asked him whether he had seen a king cobra and if he could describe it. He replied positively and described it. My next question was could he catch one to show me as I had never seen one. Promptly came the reply, “Yes, give me a few days”.

A few days after that, while I was having lunch I got a phone call informing me that the Snake Man was waiting for me at the Assistant Manager's Bungalow ( which was unoccupied then) with the prize catch - a king cobra. I rushed there and waiting there was the Snake Man holding a king cobra – tied with a string. As usual, as soon as the snake saw us it raised its hood and rose with a hiss. Then the Snake Man reprimanded the snake in Tamil, “Ai Sumu iru, Satham Podathey” ( keep still & don’t make any noise ) and waved his stick and the snake just slunk behind him.

After watching the show for some time we released it back in the jungle. I was also anxious that no damage comes to the snake, as the king cobra comes under the Schedule 1 animal in the endangered list of the forest department. Schedule 1 is the list of animals given the maximum protection and vice versa also the maximum punishment for killing or disturbing it. On the protection list, the king cobra is on the same status as the tiger or the elephant. So killing one you will get the same punishment as for killing a tiger or an elephant.

One thing that struck me was the king cobra that was very unusual  - different from any other snake I have seen. The eyes showed a streak of intelligence - very unusual in a snake. I had also learned that unlike any other snake they build a nest for laying  eggs and watch over the brood till they hatch.

The king cobra I saw measured nine feet nine inches in length. This I learned is only a mid-size king cobra.

It was amazing to watch how a simple illiterate man could know so much about snakes and the ease with which he handled them without any sophisticated tools. He would also dispense medicines to counter bites from poisonous snakes. He called his native medicines as “Pachai elai Vaithiyam” (a mixture of green herbs as treatment). I understood that they acted as powerful purgatory medicines and they possible purged the poison out of the victim’s body. Personally, I had never met anyone he had treated, so I really could not judge their efficacy.

It was interesting to spend some time now and then with the Snake Man learning a bit about the habits of the snakes and how to avoid them. Even now I marvel at the mastery the little man had over the serpents without any special equipment or fuss. Thanks to him I also came face to face with a king cobra at close quarters.

This is a picture from the estate I work on: Korakundah, Nilgiris. The unique feature of this estate is the elevation.The highest tea on the estate is 8,100 feet above sea level.                                                                                                       

The Snake Man had seen numerous Managers and Assistant Managers come and go in Pannimade and many like me were fascinated by him. It so happened that one Assistant in jest asked the Snake Man if snakes made good eating. I don’t remember what the Snake Man’s reply was but promptly that evening he was at the Assistant manager’s bungalow with a fresh rat snake.

This Assistant was taken back in surprise at this sudden gift didn’t know how to respond. He decided that the best thing was to share it with the Assistant in the nearby Malakiparai Estate. So he made the Snake Man clean the rat snake, got it cut into pieces, wrapped them up then jumped onto his motorcycle and he was off to see his pal to share the treat.

The Malakiparai Assistant was apprised of the circumstances and the pros and cons and possible after effects of eating the snake meat was discussed and Dutch courage summoned after a couple of shots of rum, it was decided to go ahead with partaking this slithery snack.

The cook was promptly summoned and given the parcel of meat to be fried. The cook after reaching the kitchen realized what meat it was and came running back to the drawing room and when he realized that the young masters were actually intent on eating the serpent, he thought they had gone insane.

Serious conversation between the cook and the house boy could be heard emanating from the kitchen, discussing the mental health of the Assistants.

Meanwhile, they downed a few more shots of rum awaiting the “snake” (snack).

Finally, the cook came in with the scaly delight and the Assistants promptly helped themselves generously and took the first bite. It didn’t seem too bad so the first plateful vanished swiftly.

It was then they noticed that the cook had not left the drawing room and was standing near the doorway and staring at them in disbelief. A brainwave hit both of them. In unison, they started to flicker their tongues in and out like a snake and rose out of the sofas loudly hissing. At which the cook dropped the empty tray and fled to the kitchen screaming in fear.

And that was the day’s entertainment.

Meet the writer:

  Rajesh Thomas introduces himself:
"A second generation planter. Born and grew up in the planting districts of Southern India. Started my career in the High Ranges and Annamallais Planting Districts for twelve years. Had a stint in Africa for two years. Since 2009 been planting in the Nilgiris.

Read all of Rajesh's stories at this link: https://teastorytellers.blogspot.com/search/label/J.Rajesh%20Thomas

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My name is Gowri Mohanakrishnan and I'm a tea planter's wife. I started this blog because one of the things that I wouldn't want us to lose in a fast changing world is the tea story - a story always told with great seriousness, no matter how funny - always true (always), maybe a tall tale, long, or short, impossible, scary, funny or exciting but never dull.
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