I sometimes went snake hunting with the Irulas. The Irulas are tribals
that are expert at snake catching. They formerly caught snakes for the
snake skin industry. After the ban, they went out of business and found
it difficult to make a living because they did not own land and did not
know how to cultivate fields or do any trade at all. After the croc
bank opened they were back in the business they excelled in, but this
time it was to save people and snakes with snake venom extraction.
Carrying only a crowbar and a few cloth bags, they would set out,
overturning every bush and digging any hole that showed signs of a
snake in it. Their crowbar had three uses, namely: (1) to shine light
into the burrow; (2) to dig the hole and (3) to handle the snake.
During my outings with the dark, short, curly haired snake hunters, we
caught striped keelbacks, ratsnakes and also black scorpions.
Apart from snakes the Irulas also caught rats. These rats, which
destroy crops and fields, build their burrows within the bunds. After
catching the rats, the Irulas would take away the rice which the rats
had stowed away and cook it to eat with the field rat meat. These
outings were long, hot and tiring but I found them nonetheless
enjoyable.
The Irulas also taught me a lot about snake handling. I learnt to
handle the four poisonous snakes of India (the "Big Four", i.
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