English cafe a place to eat s.th in English

[raha78]

One snake for two people in Indian village
by Sailendra SilFriAug 31, 11:40 PM ET
For some people, a poisonous snake hissing in their courtyard is the stuff of nightmares. But in this sleepy village ineastern India, the reptiles are welcome and abundant.
The village of Choto Pashla in WestBengal state has one snake for every two residents, mainly the poisonousmonocled cobra, a black reptile with a yellow ring around its neck that cangrow to seven feet (two meters) in length.
Such snakes are found everywhere -- inrice fields, ditches, muddy ponds and even sometimes sunning themselvesby houses -- and no one appears to fear them.
"The poison-fanged reptilesrepresent a way of life in Choto Pashla. People of the neighbouring villagesare scared to come here," said Samir Chatterjee, the local schoolheadmaster, who has written a book about the snakes.
"A recent count by the villagersfound there are more than 3,000 snakes in this village of 6,000 people."
The Geological Survey of India isstudying the village to figure out why the cobras are flourishing there, anofficial said.
"We wonder why a particular speciesof snakes is thriving in this village,"said the official, asking not to be named. "We are looking into the topography of the village."
Local lorehas it that the reptiles first came to the little rice-farming village 130 kilometers(80 miles) northwest of the state capital Kolkata en masse six centuries agoduring a flood.
The Hindu village began worshipping thesnakes as the representatives of a goddess and believe that their farms haveconsequently prospered ever since.
"Women offer milk to the reptilesat midday when the priest worships the goddess of snakes, Manasa, in thetemple," said Chatterjee.
When a snake dies, the villagers placeit in an earthen jar and then immerses it inthe sacred Ganges River.
Still, apart from feeding them andperforming their last rites, the villagersdo try to keep the snakes at arm's length, or more.
"Our customsforbid us from touching the snakes,"said 25-year-old Dipu Majhi who was bitten by a snake nearly five years agowhile fishing in a pond.
Nearly a dozen villagers die of snake-biteevery year, locals say, with the village still relying on traditionaltreatments.
"I was asked to bathe in the pond beside the temple of the goddessof snakes and then a pinch of mud from the temple compound was rubbed on theinjury," said Majhi, a fish and vegetable seller.
"My hand swelled but healed after a week."
Anti-venomdrugs are available at some hospitals in the state, but these may not be nearenough for the villagers to get to in time.
"It's a unique village wherepoisonous cobras are co-existing with humanbeings," said Dipak Mitra, a herpetologist.Mitra also runs a snake park in Kolkata with 700 species of the reptiles, andhas visited the village.
"It's simply incredible," he said.
.
Glossary
Poisonous: containing poison
stuff: a variety of objects or things
reptiles : Snakes and crocodiles are reptiles.
Abundant : existing or available in large quantities
Ditch : hole
Muddy : covered with mud, or full of mud
Thriving : very successful
Topography : the study of the features of land, for example hills, rivers, androads
Lore : traditional knowledge about nature and their culture that people getfrom their parents and other older people
Prospered : to grow and do well
Immerse : to put something or someone in a liquid, especially so that they arecovered completely
Rite : a traditional ceremony, especially a religious one
Customs : a very old belief,or story
Forbid : ban
Bathe : to wash yourself, especially in a bath
Heal : cure
Venom : poison
co-existing : living together
herpetologist :
incredible : difficult to believe