Special pujas held for Kerala snake catcher Vava Suresh's recovery after snakebite

As Kerala's well-known snake rescuer Vava Suresh fights for his life after suffering a snakebite, his well wishers and fans are conducting special prayers at temples for his recovery.

Vava Suresh has been one of the more famous snake rescuers in Kerala, swiftly responding to distress calls from people for catching snakes and freeing the snakes in the forest areas. He has caught thousands of snakes over the last three decades and has also survived over 250-odd snake bites, including those of highly venomous ones. Vava Suresh was also at service in the flood-hit areas in Kerala during the last two years to catch the snakes that entered houses during the floods.

Vava Suresh suffered the latest snake bite on Thursday while exhibiting a Russell's viper he rescued from a well in Pathanamthitta district after the people insisted on seeing the reptile. He was admitted to the intensive care unit of Thiruvananthapuram's Medical College Hospital and was kept under observation under the antivenom treatment. His well wishers were offering prayers to serpent gods at various temples, including the renowned Mannarasala temple in Alappuzha district.

Vava Suresh, who is around 45, had said in a recent interview that he must have rescued over 30,000 snakes over the last 30 years. Though the Kerala government had offered him a job in the Forest Department, he declined it stating that a job would affect the service he was now rendering to the society by swiftly responding to distress calls. Vava Suresh did not insist on any huge remuneration for catching snakes.