Serpents in Srinagar: A brief history

Frequent report of snakes in backyards, parks, lawns, and even inside washrooms, cars, are often reported in cities and towns.  Of late a video of the snake crawling inside the Air Asia, air craft on way to Malaysia shared by Hana Mohsin Khan, commercial pilot showed the reptile moving inside the illuminated area of the plane.

While snakes have always existed around, what makes encounter with humans more frequent in cities is the unprecedented growth and pressure on cities that were in earlier years just cultivating farm lands, lakes, and forested areas. Obviously they stray into human habitation mostly during the summer season.

Snakes are ofcourse reptiles. They do not have legs, and have several means of locomotion, which typically require snakes to adapt its body movements to the surface on which it wishes to move.

Snakes are a very specialized group of reptiles under order ophidian. Thousands of snake species are found in the tropical and sub-tropical parts of the world, many are poisonous and others are non-poisonous. Thirty to Forty thousand people die annually of snake bite. Snakes are not found in New Zealand and Ireland.

Snakes are slender and elongated reptiles without limbs, eye lids and external ears. The whole body is covered with epidermal scales and shields. Poisonous snakes are slightly different in make; their labial glands have become modified into poison glands and donot help in digestion.  The tongue is bifid at the tip. Left lung is reduced. Urinary bladder is absent.Most snakes are terrestrial, few are arboreal and aquatic.

They are also cold-blooded, which means that they have to rely on outside source to maintain their body heat. They are generally shy and will not attack unless provoked so it’s best to leave them undisturbed.

In pre historic era snakes have been popularly adored as having regenerative power, as a good evil, as a god of good, and as a god of death. In Greek religion the snake was frequently considered divine. In Rome during the period of the empire, a sacred snake was kept within the city and was attended by the vestal virgins, it was believed that if the snakes refused to accept from the hand of one of its attendants, the attendant was no longer virgin, and she was immediately killed.

Primitive Hindu snake cults were incorporated into the worship of Vishnu. Buddhist legends relate the Buddha was given the true Buddhism by the king of the serpents. In China the serpent in the form of the dragon figures as a fierce but protective divinity.Snake charming, not to be confused with snakes worship, is the art of fascinating, capturing, and controlling serpents.

Serpents in Srinagar 

Unscientific and irrational beliefs have wide currency in our society and on many occasions, we have witnessed this. During summer of 1981 a pair of 6 feet snakes were found in an open ground at M.Azad Road, Srinagar, now housing J&K Bank corporate office.  Crowd in thousands gathered in the ground, causing pandemonium at the site. Following day’s people in large number came to see the reptiles, as if buried treasure worth millions was found.

I remember a man in the crowd saying that one snake has diamond in its mouth, and the other one has supernatural powers. He identified the snake, the one carrying a diamond in its mouth, and the other one has supernatural powers. He described them as “Kulmar and Shahmar.” The word spread like wildfire, attracting more and more people to the site.Some started to worship the snakes with flowers, others brought milk. Someone shouted, “Badasha, Asalamualykum” and shouted silence please; theses snakes are the “Pasaiqdars” custodian of the Dal Lake and Dalagte area. Some non-Muslims offered “Puja”. Administrators sensing law and order problem, removed the snakes during night hours, leaving the crowd guessing.

(Author is a columnist and can be reached at:[email protected])