From celebrities to the common man, scores in Kerala are praying for the popular snake catcher Vava Suresh who is fighting for his life after suffering a cobra bite.
A snake catcher for over three decades, 48-year-old Suresh has caught a number of snakes from human habitats in various parts of Kerala, either handing them over to forest officials or leaving them in the forests. He likes to call himself a snake rescuer and not a catcher.
Suresh was removing a cobra from a human habitat in Kottayam district on Monday when it bit him on his left thigh. He was highly critical later that day but there was improvement in his condition after 24 hours. Social media is abuzz with celebrities including actor Jayaram to common people praying for his recovery.
The snake rescuer has suffered nearly 250 snake bites and has been critical on multiple occasions, the latest being in 2020. He has been bitten by cobras at least 10 times. His left middle finger had to be amputated and his right wrist could not be rotated freely after sustaining Cobra bites. Earlier, many of his well wishers used to conduct poojas and make offerings at temples of serpentine gods for Suresh's recovery.
Suresh's experience of dealing with snakes also made him a prosecution witness in the cold-blooded killing of a differently-abled woman by her husband by inflicting snake bites at Kollam district in Kerala in 2020.
Suresh was offered a job in the Kerala forest department but he preferred to remain as an independent snake rescuer attending to distress calls from people. His practice of displaying snakes, mostly on the request of the onlookers, was often criticised as a risky one.
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