“I have no fear of losing my life – if I have to save a koala or a crocodile or a kangaroo or a snake, mate, I will save it,” said late Steve Irwin nicknamed ‘The crocodile hunter’, who was fatally pierced in the chest by a stingray spine.
I t wouldn’t be wrong to consider the same about a resident of Kumbarakoppal, who has also probably lost the fear of losing his life while trying to do what he is extremely good at – catching snakes.
Having caught more than 140 snakes during the past 20 months, Snake Prakash as he is popularly known, is a common sight in areas such as Basavanagudi, Hebbal and Vijaynagar, as he comes to the assistance of people whenever he gets a call to catch a snake in the surrounding areas.
Adding to his snake-catching skills, the 37-year-old grabs the attention of passers-by with his blue-coloured Bajaj Chetak scooter, which has a yellow sticker of the dreaded King Cobra.
For Prakash, catching snakes ‘just happened’. Narrating his experience to City Herald, Prakash recalled that once it happened that a snake had come wandering near his neighbour’s house. The residents had called another snake-catcher to wean off the reptile, but the latter never came. Watching the snake linger around, Prakash suddenly decided to grab the snake with his right hand. Prakash said he didn’t have any fear at that moment when he was catching the snake.
While others around him were dumbstruck by his courage, Prakash coolly put the snake into a cover and took it away. At that time I knew that I could handle any snake and from then onwards people started calling him in case they found any invertebrate in the surrounding areas.
Prakash says that he worked in Bannerghatta National Park for about a year and worked as a conductor for about seven to eight years.
Another shocking incident, he says is his brush with a snake bite. About nine years back, he was bitten by a cobra. Prakash said he survived the incident as he took out the poison. Having watched others in action for more than 20 years, helped him clear the poison from his system, he adds. Prakash said his biggest catch was a 6.8 foot Cobra near Vijayanagar.
Those who find a snake in your surrounding and want to get in touch with Snake Prakash, can do so by calling him on 9739766067.