Snake Charmer, Shamsuddin: The Performer of Wonders

People keep various animals as pets. But Cobras as pets? Yes, Shamsuddin of Cherpulasseri does have pet cobras. His family of street magicians and snake charmers has been keeping cobras as pets for eight generations now.

They carry the snakes around in eco-friendly cane woven baskets. To keep the inside cool, the cane baskets are covered on their outsides with cow dung paste. During the hot summer months water is sprinkled on the baskets to keep the insides cool. Once every three days each cobra is fed two small chickens.

Video shows the snake, and the sound you hear is the actual hiss of the cobra recorded using lapels. These traditional snake charmers neither pull the fangs nor remove the poison glands of the cobras. Instead they always carry around with them a local anti venom made from the snake’s poison. But right from a young age they gain the expertise to catch the snakes and put them in the basket without themselves getting bitten.