THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Driving a pick-up van was enough to break the gender stereotypes and set her apart in the society, but J R Raji, a 33-year-old hailing from Pacha village in Palode, did not stop there. Nowadays, if she is not behind the wheels, she would most probably be busy running behind snakes! Raji found a self-employment opportunity in snake catching five months ago. So far she has caught 74 snakes which posed risk to people’s lives in different parts of Thiruvananthapuram district.
“Luckily, none of the animals or myself got hurt which is God’s grace and also due to the special care which I take during the endeavours,” Raji told The New Indian Express. Raji’s curiosity for reptiles started from her childhood. “Snakes never evoked fear in me. As a kid I would follow snakes that crawled through our house premises. I spent my childhood in a remote village of Kolla near Nedumangad,” she said.
An expert on snake behaviour, Raji accumulated her knowledge and skills through self-learning with the help of Internet, especially YouTube videos. Her formal training was a one-day programme conducted by Babu Palalayam, the late snake enthusiast and a volunteer of Snake Rescue Kerala.
In her new career, Raji could catch almost all poisonous species found in South Kerala, except the King Cobra. The most dangerous catch was a cobra which was spotted in a house at Sasthamkavu, she said.
“When people started pelting stones, it went into hiding in a wall. I had to control the crowd before catching the frantic snake that weighed about five kg,” said Raji. Stone pelting or beating to death are still the preferred modes of people when snakes are spotted in their habitats, laments Raji.Her earnings are donations she receives from her clients. “I won’t charge the poor or for snakes caught from public places. I’m available round-the-clock,” she said. After every catch, Raji would contact the forest officials and release it to forests as advised by the officials.
Raji’s second profession is driving and she holds a badge to drive heavy vehicles. Her husband Anilkumar too is a driver. The couple have been hired by a person to drive his jeep and pick-up van in turns.
School students Anamika and Abhirami are their daughters. “Driving or snake catching, both careers are quite safe for women if we adhere to safety standards,” said Raji.