After his father’s death, Srikant Bedia began practising snake charming. He was only 20 at the time. Now, as a 54-year-old father of four, Srikant also works at construction sites as a daily wage earner to support his family. A majority of the 55 families in Bedia Tola were once snake charmers by profession. However, only 12 to 15 families continue to practice it; the remaining have since turned to daily wage labour. “In urban areas, nobody—not even children—are interested in snakes nowadays.
