Snake

Yesterday a snake came to my room. About two feet in length, and black like pencil-lead -- a soft sort of black, with a dull shine. I shooed it away, but he left some thoughts in my head which I must note down.

How it all happened:

Around 10 pm last night, I was chatting with a friend, when I heard my landlady call me in a worried kind of a tone. I typed "one sec brb" and then fairly sped out of the room. I looked up to the first floor where she stood waving her hands towards the drawing room, "Snake! God knows where it came from!", and I followed her gaze to see a black tail curving away into the drawing room.

So I rushed back to the computer, typed out
"there's a snake in my room"
"poor thing"
"will send it out and be back"

And then I rushed back out, went to the kitchen and picked up the broom. My landlady was standing (quite calmly, come to think of it) watch from the first floor (ah! she was calm 'cos she was on the first floor); she made me shut the other doors so that I could be sure of sending the snake out in the right direction.

The snake was resting about two feet inside the drawing room, and I thought for a second about walking into the dark room so close to him. Then the moment was over and I walked briskly past him and went to the other side of the room and switched on the light. Then I opened the other door, from which guests usually entered but from which I hoped to make this guest leave.

The snake was still resting where I'd last seen him, and I walked behind him and touched him with the broom. He moved off slowly (polished Kota stone gives no purchase to a snake's slithering movement) and reached the corner. Then, another prod made him turn left and move towards the door. A few seconds later, he was moving out of the door and towards the intermediate channel gate. Job almost done, I thought.

My landlord and his cousin came down the steps by this time. The snake had gone in hiding behind an old, disused washing machine that lay near the channel gate. Continuing the 'prodding' logic, I swished the broom below the washing machine. Which act seemed to tickle the washing machine, for it made a loud noise. I repeated the swish, and then realised that it was the snake that was hissing at the broom. Quite disconcertingly loud, but I couldn't let myself think about the hisses I'd heard in movies and various other hissy topics, so I swished the broom again. This must've happened two or three times more - swish! Hiss! swish-swish! Hiss!

By this time, my landlord and his cousin had got a peek at the snake, and they got agitated as they believed it was a King cobra, the most venomous of snakes. I was cool, 'cos the snake was about five feet away from me, the snake was much more afraid than I was, and I figured I was smart enough to know when to move. Plus I remembered vaguely that King Cobras are not found in this part of India, and though there are venomous snakes around, not every snake you see is. (note: need to research on this)

To come back, we were in a deadlock right now, a stalemate, if you so wish. My landlord came to the rescue. He reached out and tipped the washing machine over, till it hit the wall about two feet away and stood leaning at about 40 degrees to the vertical. The snake, poor thing, had no where to hide anymore. So at my next Swish! he hissed, and then put his hood down and moved away. I wonder if he was berating us for our choice of flooring. All kind of polished floors! How's a snake to get away from these pesty humans, you tell me! And those itchy brooms, how they make you sneeze!

So, moments later he'd moved out to the garden, and then further till the main gate. By the time I got the channel gate open, he'd vanished. After a few words from my landlord appreciating my calmness, the fact that it was the first time a snake had graced this house by a visit and a laugh from me saying that perhaps it was the Nag Devta come for a blessing, being my family's Deity, we said goodnight and moved on.

Aftermath:

I came back to the chat window to find the following text

"poor thing?"

"I’m going to eat some chocolates".

"Snickers…"

"sinful chocolates.. mmm"

I say chaps, girls have their priorities just right! At least this girl -- rather than worrying frantically and waving her hands uselessly, she was enjoying chocolates. Go girl!

After I narrated the goings-on in brief, we discussed chocolates, people who hated chocolates and some other stuff. Then we bid goodnight, and here's where I finally started thinking about what had just happened.

Afterthoughts:

Fact1: Animals are usually more afraid than human beings when forced into mutual company.

Fact2: Animals turn and fight/bite/jump only when they're forced into a corner, and see no other escape.

I knew these, and so I stayed calm at the moment. Then again, I have the knack of getting calm as my adrenaline pumps higher. On the edge, yes; Senses screaming out data, yes; brain working out thousand alternatives, yes; panic, no; calm and confident, yes. However, once the snake was gone, and the adrenaline was gone, I wondered. What if the snake came back? What had made it come into the house in the first place? What if it had turned left into the room I was chatting in? It was dark and I would never have noticed him, till perchance he came to where I sat, and then a reflex shout-and-jump would've made it nervous; would it have bit me? Was he poisonous? Ifs and Buts..

(I think this is the point where the actor would've lit a cigarette and taken a deep drag at it, all contemplative and philosophical. However, the GoI doesn't allow any more smoking scenes in Cinema, and I don't smoke anyways.)

I read D.H. Lawrence's "Snake" again. No, I don't want to write a blank verse poem about my experience. Perhaps you're thinking of it though, and wondering how I felt about the snake itself. So I should point out that I felt pity at the snake ("poor thing") for wandering into an alien environment. I didn't want to hurt it, and I didn't want to get hurt myself. All said and done, we parted plesantly enough.

And I hope the snake gives me credit for the broom. Other humans might've done worse.

(P.S. Yes this is the color I use for my chat messages)

Update 25th July: The snake was most probably a Common Krait. They're poisonous, too.