– Satyakam Ray

Social insects like ants, termites, bees, and wasps often leave behind trail pheromones. These mark pathways for others to follow toward resource-rich areas. Sometimes, the trail pheromone serves as an alarm, as guards aggregate around a nest invader.

Snakes in the jungle also hunt in packs, much like wolves, contrary to the belief that snakes are solitary creatures. The Planet Earth episode of Young Iguana, in which a few hungry Racer snakes wildly attacked it, suggests a group attack.

Why are two unrelated issues presented before the start of a short story? These two stories are beautifully woven into another heart-wrenching tale in the Anandpur Chronicles.

The story dates from the 1940s. Of course, the narrator is Maa’s granny, who was very young at the time. Maa listened to her granny’s story some 50 years ago, and I heard the story some 25 years ago. It’s a third-generation anecdote, somewhat watered down.

Let’s proceed with the story without elaborating. At that time, Granny lived in her paternal home in Deogaon, a small village 10 km from Anandpur.

Once, a few people from the nearby village of Kansa Kendua visited her house. As a host, she served them lunch. All of a sudden, she heard a man crying. She asked about the sobbing. The man pointed towards a tiny grain of rice. A group of ants carried it away.

Granny and the people eating lunch were confused. After consoling himself, the man finally told why he was crying. The ants carrying the rice grain reminded him of his younger brother’s ordeal. He remembered how the jungle snakes had attacked and carried away his brother.

Intrigued by the revelation, the group gathered around the person and asked him to recount the entire saga. The person took a moment to regain their composure and began the ill-fated anecdote.

Both brothers were snake charmers. The older brother was an expert snake catcher and charmer. Because of an inherited family profession, he taught his younger sibling the nuisance of catching snakes.

The tale is set in the pre-independence era. At that time, the village of Kansa Kendua was surrounded by vast, untouched forests. Many ferocious wild animals and snakes lived in the jungle. Thus, readers can visualize the picture in their imagination.

The snake-catching brother duo visited the spot where they would sit at night. It was a small creek in the middle of the jungle. Dense forests surrounded everything. Usually, in the middle of the night, the snake gang visits the stream. The team comprises enormous pythons, king cobras, smaller serpents, and other snakes.

The snake catcher sneaks up on the group secretly from the nearby tree. When the group doesn’t pay attention, he swiftly holds on to a small snake for his purpose. Learning to be an expert snake catcher is a basic yet complex technique. The older brother took his younger sibling to teach this essential trait that day.

As planned, the two brothers sat stealthily in their respective trees. The trees were located side by side, very close to the creek. The dense foliage covered the brothers. As a precaution, they could see each other but couldn’t talk. They communicated primarily through hand gestures, eye contact, and nonverbal signals.

It was midnight. As anticipated, the snake group came roaming down the creek. The two brothers were waiting patiently in the trees.

According to the older snake catcher, it was a sight of horror and beauty. The group included various snakes, ranging in age from young to old. Although their hissing sounds were troubling, the snakes were elegant and beautiful despite their ferocity. It was a time of celebration for the family of snakes. They were unaware of the dangers lurking in the trees.

The younger brother was feeling quite impatient. In a hurry to catch his first-ever prize, he climbed down the tree without any signal from his master brother. It was a perfect mismatch in the timing! The snake group was only halfway to the creek.

The human intruder was too much for the group’s pride. The snake group just piled on the unfortunate man. They hissed and bit him in many places, and finally, the giant snakes carried the almost dead person away to an unknown location in the jungle. 

The older brother was helpless. He was watching the incident from his perch in the opposite tree. His life was in danger, so he hid for his immediate safety. Luckily, the snakes couldn’t feel his presence! It was good for him, but his younger brother’s whereabouts couldn’t be traced later.

Somehow, the person escaped death in the morning, sad and inconsolable upon his brother’s demise.

This incident occurred in the 1940s, before India gained independence. As a result, the narration may lack many finer details. However, the account is 100% genuine.

If the younger brother had waited longer and followed the instructions, he would have been saved. It proves that one should wait for the right time to act. Nevertheless, Odisha’s jungles are so thin and scattered that catching snakes the old way has become passé.