Real Life Stories - Russells Viper It was a hot humid night at Siddiq Nagar, Civil Lines, Barabanki way back in 1976. A little before midnight as he turned into that dark narrow lane with his punctured cycle in his hands to reach his home, he heard a sharp hissing sound about ten feet ahead of him. By a reflex action he got rooted to the ground and tried to take stock of the situation but he was not sure what it was. Then there was another loud hiss. He got frozen at his place and sensed a danger ahead. He was in a fix. He did not know what to do. It was dark and difficult to surmise what creature it was lying in the middle of the lane. Whatever it was, he had no courage to move in darkness. He had no torch or matchstick with him. He waited a little more but remained undecided about his next move. Then he was joined by a walker going the same way. He was his neighbour. Now they were two and in a dilemma. On the left side of the lane was house of an elderly couple, the ground floor of which was rented to some students; on the right side it was only a bare boundary wall of an upcoming house. Then he called one of those students. After two or three calls a window opened on the lane side and the two of them inquired what the matter was. They were told of the hissing sound and possibility of some animal lying in the middle of the road. Then they, the students, flashed torch light through the window in the lane. They all saw a big snake in the middle of the lane, most of its body coiled with just six inches of it raised above. Under the dimlight of the torch the snake in that narrow lane looked very fearsome and each one of them shuddered. Then those students climbed upstairs and called the neighbors across the lane ahead who were sleeping on the roof. These neighbors descended down to come in the lane with their own torch and threw light on the snake who hissed like a small pressure cooker. These neighbors further called the next door neighbors who too joined the general commotion. In the meantime the students duo felt brave and opened the door that exited in the lane and made themselves available. The earlier cyclist and the walker, in the meanwhile were joined by some neighbors from the other side of the lane. Now under the circumstances described, the general scenario was something like this in that small dark narrow lane. There was a fat formidable looking snake coiled on its body lying in the middle of the lane, a small crowd of spectators on both ends of it, two young students on the door that opened on that lane, and a nervous hungry cyclist among them all waiting for the snake to go. But the snake was unmoved except releasing some occasional terrifying hisses. About half an hour passed. Now the crowd was getting impatient. This eventless drama in midnight , only to be punctuated by hisses of the snake had to come to some logical conclusion. Things could not be left to themselves. Then they all decided to kill the snake. One of the younger enthusiasts among the crowd brought a thick bamboo stick but had no courage to go nearer to the coiled snake under a torch light. After all, to kill a moving snake with a bamboo stick is much easier than a stationry one who in a swift electric action might pounce upon the person close by with the stick. Then some one brought a half brick and threw it underhand over the snake. It missed the snake but the latter released a big hiss. Then another try at throwing the half brick at snake from closer distance was made. This time the half brick hit the snake. The snake made a hiss, uncoiled itself and moved aside writhing in pain. In the meanwhile the enthusiast with stick came closer the snake from hind side and lashed it with mighty blows. The snake writhed more in pain and agony and was finally rendered motionless. Each one in the crowd made sure the snake had really died and got relieved. Then it was pushed aside on a vacant plot of land at the end of lane. I too was part of that small drama that events had unfolded so many years before in that dark stuffy midnight. In the morning I could not resist my temptation of having a relook at that dead snake. Its neck was narrow, mouth and jaw bigger and square shaped, it had three rows or chains of brown spots on its body running lenght wise. Its figure got permanently imprinted in my mind. Many years later when I developed small interest in snakes I immeditely knew we had all killed a big size Russels Viper in that narrow lane in the middle of the night. I still feel very sorry for the poor creature. - mohammad ahsan/ 30-2-2014
Posted on: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 11:02:20 +0000
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