While most of us may feel absolutely repulsed and scared of snakes, Chaman Singh, a well-known snake catcher of Udaipur finds the reptile adorable and one of the most beautiful creatures of the world. He takes the life of a snake as important as a human being. Over the last decade, Chaman Singh has dedicated his life to rescuing thousands of poisonous reptiles.

Chaman Singh as a snake catcher, has rescued more than 20000 rattlers in his career of more than a decade. Chaman Singh had utmost interest towards wild life since childhood; as a result, he lost his concentration in studies and managed to study only till 10^th class.

“I could hardly concentrate on books. I used to bunk school to take care of stray dogs and other animals whom I found to be suffering and provided them with primary treatment”, said Chaman Singh.

In the past decade, Chaman has worked with a number of animal rescue organizations, viz. Animal Aid Society, Forest Department, etc., has gone to impossible places to save wild animals and has taken a specialized training of 7 days in Snake Catching from Snehal Patel at Baroda.

According to Chaman Singh, not all of the snakes are poisonous, but the Cobra, which is considered to be the most lethal is found in abundance in Udaipur and also all over Rajasthan.

When asked how many times he has been bitten by snake? Chaman Singh replied to our amazement that he has never been bitten by any, added that biting of serpents depends on an individuals catching style. Holding a snake with soft hands will keep the catcher away from the venom. He has also entered a 100 feet deep well to rescue a snake.

One thing which this passionate catcher has observed in the eyes of every animal is, “I am here just to fulfill my daily needs and will not harm anyone, unless I feel a threat to my life”.

Chaman has always given importance to educating common people about the behavior of the venomous reptiles and the do’s and don’ts in case of a snake found in the locality. He added that in the rainy season he solves more than 20 cases in a day, while the number of complains reduces to around 4 a day in other seasons.

“We do not charge for our services, but accept whatever grant is forwarded by the families. We leave the snakes at safe places in the presence of authorities from the forest department after recording the details of the complainants and the type of rattler”.

Besides teaching people he has also taught his family members, as how to catch a snake without getting bitten, including his wife, two nephews, sister in law and his own daughter.

In a general talk with UT, Singh has challenged the social myth about the Monitor Lizard; that it is prone to kill other animals through his breath and also attracts thunder light, which many of us believe. On the contrary it is a non-poisonous reptile, although it is hunted by some tribes for food and extracting oil (Sanda Oil).

Like every talented individual, Chaman Singh had to face many problems in making Snake Catching as a career – first from his family, as his father Late Mohan Singh Chouhan always wanted him to study well and find some good job. Adhering to his fathers wishes, he tried almost every job available to him but failed to perform well. As a result he was fired from some and quitted the others.

In the words of Chaman Singh, “I have worked in a factory, handicraft preparation, driving Rickshaw, etc. but always remained unsatisfied from the type of work, as my passion was in wild life”.

The future plans of Chaman include opening an animal rescue hospital in the city, so as to save lives of accidentally injured animals. At present, there is no such hospital across the state resulting in the death of wild life.