View from India: The Snake In The Backyard

by Parvathi

You never felt the blistering heat of North Indian summer when you were young. Playing in the shade of the huge, branching Mahua tree, the four children and dog were oblivious to everything except their mysterious game. Nina, the Alsatian, lay near them, tongue hanging out, a loving watchful eye on the group. Mahua flowers, heavy with scent, fell softly carpeting the grass. The villagers would be by later, to pick them. Their potent local brew was made from the Mahua flowers.

The four children were playing in the back yard, and behind them lay the big kitchen garden neatly divided into plots and carefully tended by Bahadur. He sat near the kitchen door, smiling inscrutably, watching the children play, enjoying his little break while Mrs. K. partook of her elevenses inside.

Suddenly Nina stood up growling, and stood protectively in front of the children. Bahadur stopped fanning himself, and stood up, a frown on his brow.

"Children, children, please go inside; Nina, inside, inside!!" Bahadur cried out loudly.

M. looked up. "We are staying here!" she said setting her mouth in an obstinate line. "Why are you disturbing us?"

"Why?" repeated little B. He always repeated what his sister said.

The other two did not raise their heads, still engrossed in their play. Nina growled louder and more threateningly, and gave a short, sharp bark looking at the four children.

"Uf,ohhh! Nina!" said M. "What is the matter with you?"

Nina barked again, and it seemed as if she was trying to draw their attention to something in the yard.

Bahadur was there picking up the toys. “Better you go inside now,” he said. “Play when the sun is down."

B. suddenly gave a cry and pointed at something near the garden wall. The children turned and looked. It was a snake. Long and gleaming stretched out against the wall.

"Snake!" screamed C., already half way to the house, "Mama, Mama!!" The rest hurtled after her. B. stood sucking his thumb, watching this sudden visitor, till Bahadur scooped him up. "Come Chota Babu, let's go inside."

B. had never seen a snake before in all his brief three years.

Nina stood her ground and growled making sure her brood was safely home.

"Mama, Mama! There's a snake in the kitchen garden!" C. shouted, hurtling into the living room where her mother looked up from her tea.

"Snake?" said Mrs. K. startled, spilling some of the hot liquid. "Where? Bahadur, where's this snake? What are you doing about it? The children play outside all the time. God, what do we do now?"

Mrs. K. was nervous and upset. "Where are the children?" she asked, placing her cup on the table.

"They ok Memsaab," said Bahadur. "They watch snake," he said smiling.

"What do you mean?" said Mrs. K. and rushed inside to find the children standing on the deep sill in the bedroom, looking at the snake through the window. Mrs. K. took up a position behind them. Yes, there it was, long, very long, and gleaming.

"I like its skin," said M. "Auntie, is it nice to touch?"

A look of horror crossed Mrs. K.'s face. "Touch?" she said. "You don't touch a snake! And don't you go about doing such things!"

"Nithe!" lisped B., still sucking on his thumb.

They heard footsteps at the door. "Daddy!" sang C. "My Daddy's home! My Daddy's home!" she danced around her father who picked her up and swung her around.

"Hello kids!” he said. "So what's happening?"

"Snake, uncle! There's a snake in the backyard !" said M. swinging her pigtails.

"If I'd known there were snakes around I would not have allowed the children to play outside," said Mrs. K.

Nina gave a volley of barks, putting in her little piece. She simply adored Mr. K. and he likewise.

"Hey Nina! Glad you were out there with them," said K. fondling Nina's neck. "Bahadur..."

Bahadur came to the door. "It’s alright, Sahib. It’s only that cobra that lives in the back yard."

Mrs. K. could not believe her ears! "Cobra that lives in the back yard!?” she said incredulously. “Well, I never! …and with children running around?"

"It’s like this," K. said, sitting down with the children and Nina all around him. "It’s been there for a long time. I forget how long. It dug itself, or found itself, a long tunnel that starts in our back yard and comes out after little B.'s house. Sometimes it comes out and just lies there enjoying itself. It’s very peaceful.

"I sit there and read in winters. I think he knows I will never harm him. They know, animals do, you know. They know who means to harm them and who does not. They only attack in self-defense. They do not plot to kill; nor do they kill for pleasure. That sort of behavior is only from us". He winked at them.

"We don't harm animals, uncle," they chorused.

"Good," he said. "This snake likes to live in peace, and he likes my backyard, so we live in symbiotic harmony." This was addressed to Mrs. K. who stood listening with a puzzled frown on her face. "Bahadur knows about the snake. That's why he watches out for you in the back yard."

The four turned to Bahadur. "You know all about the snake! You are not afraid?" They crowded closer to K. "Tell us about the snake, Bahadur; tell us about the snake!" and they got up and trailed behind him on his way to the kitchen.

"All right," K. and Mrs. K. heard him telling the foursome and dog. "Now all of you sit quiet and I will tell you the story of the snake in the kitchen garden."

K. smiled at his wife gently, "Don't worry. The snake has been here ever since I moved into the house. Some say he's been here ever since they can remember."

He parted the curtains and looked out into the backyard. The snake was still there, long and gleaming.