Snake Bite
From My Heart to Paper
Chapter Three · Snake Bite
Namaskar Mahara
This is Dr Archana, and you are about to dive deep into the emotions and experiences I am sharing as a Kashmiri Pandit daughter. Hope you have been doing well. As promised, I am back with the third chapter of my series.
a Jungle Nearby
As discussed earlier, my grandfather was such a sweet soul, and my grandmother was also the cherry on the cake. The episode that I am sharing with you happened when I was merely a 3–4-year-old baby. We had migrated from Kashmir and had started to rebuild our lives and homes. First, we had stayed in tents provided by the government to Kashmiri migrants, and then later we shifted to a rented one-room place.
With limited resources, we built our second home (the first one was in Kashmir) and there were two rooms adjacent to each other, with their doors lying nearby. There was only cement plaster on the walls, minimum light fittings, with only one lamp in the room and a low-voltage bulb on the verandah (the space nearby our two rooms). There were windows with Jali (mesh of iron threads) and iron rods. We used to put polythene in between the Jali and iron rods to avoid rain coming inside. In the space for sockets, there were fitted wooden boxes. I used to play with those boxes, keeping my little play stuff in them.
a Toddler Between Two Rooms
The time was of summers. Pyari Maa was cooking in one room, and my Tathya, Bhabhi, Papa and Sunny Bhya (my elder brother) were watching TV in another room. In those times, there was one programme called "Om Namah Shivay" that was telecast on DD National channel on Mondays at 9:00 p.m. Everyone was watching the TV, while like other little toddlers, I was at unrest and going from one room to another to meet pyari Maa.
Suddenly, I started to cry loudly.
Hearing my cries, everybody was at their feet. Tathya came out and asked me why I was crying. Being a little toddler, I was not able to convey what had happened. Tathya took me in his lap and asked me what has happened, but my cries were creating a mess.
Curled Around the Slipper"
To understand the situation, Tathya asked Papa to look here and there if there was something that hurt me or if I had fallen. Then pyari Maa took me in her arms while Tathya took one torch and began to search here and there.
His search ended upon the little creature curled around the rubber slipper on the verandah. Tathya had a closer look along with Papa and found a little snake hissing. Seeing this, everybody was scared and looked for the links to my crying.
"There were two red dots on my right foot where the blood was oozing out like little red pearls."
It was found that I had accidentally stepped on the body of that little snake, and in turn he had bitten me on my right foot. There were two red dots on my right foot where the blood was oozing out like little red pearls. At last, the mystery of the attacker and the prey was decoded.
Tathya took the rubber slipper with the little snake around it and threw it away in the so-called jungle near home. After disposing of the snake, the focus was on me.
Little Archu and the uninvited visitor — the verandah, the open doors, and a summer night
a Rumour of the Worst
As it was night, they had taken me to some medical shop, given me medicine and waited for the morning. They kept me awake all night. In those times, if there was any disease or any bite by an insect or reptile, there was a Desi healing scheme called Fanda (where sacred ash with chanting is applied to the affected area; PS: I don't know exactly the procedure, but yes, the brief)
In the morning, I was taken to get Fanda done, and after that we were back home. In the same morning, one of our Hamsaay (neighbour) had come to our home to give Tehaar (yellow plain rice with cooked mustard oil and a pinch of salt), usually made on the occasion of a birthday or some auspicious happening. The Hamsaay aunty asked what had happened, and Papa informed her about the snake bite. Then she said, take Archu to the child hospital in Shalimar — SMG Hospital, where most of the migrant children had been born 😊. Without any delay, they took me to the hospital, and I was admitted.
In hospital, the doctor enquired about the snakebite and, upon learning all, they administered a Decadron injection used in emergency conditions to suppress allergic reactions and the immune system. The doctor asked my parents to stay alert and see if I was getting unconscious, as they had to monitor the dose. By the time the dose reached the threshold level, I got unconscious.
At that moment, one funny incident happened. All others in the emergency room thought that I was no more, and the news spread like a forest fire. But with God's grace, I recovered and went back home happily.
Two Rupees "
"After the snake bite, she feared that I may not live — and wanted to have a picture together, to have a memory."
During all this, some precious emotions and fears were roaming around in my pyari Maa's mind. She was naive and pure; seeing her child going through all this ached her heart. After 3–4 days of coming back home, she dressed me in a blue pretty frock that she had bought for 2 rupees at that time.
For the mother's soft heart, she wanted to have a picture together. We went to the photographer's shop and had a photograph together, with big Eucalyptus trees surrounding us. When I was grown enough and after seeing the album, I would ask pyari Maa: why did we have this picture? She replied that after the snake bite, she feared that I may not live and wanted to have a picture together to have a memory.
Now whenever I see that photograph, my heart fills with so much love and respect for my mother.
a Blessing in Disguise
After the snake bite, it was one of the most illustrated stories in our house. Everybody who came to our home would ask me to show the snake bite, and I proudly showed them the two dots of the fangs, as if it was something uniquely mine. I was like a tape recorder that is switched on when someone comes to hear the snake bite story.
In gatherings, people would sometimes joke: "Ye cha saey yamis sarfan aas toof dichmich" (Is she the one who was bitten by the snake?)
One interesting thing that happened because of this snake bite was about my immunity. Pyari Maa used to say that my immune system was very weak, I would get infections, cold and cough easily. But after the snake bite, my immune system improved greatly. For me, the snake bite was "A blessing in disguise."
After that, many small snakes used to come to our home. As there were jungle and not much population in the area, insects and reptiles used to come when there were monsoon or heavy winds and rain.
“Childhood incidents are carved deep in our hearts, and whenever we want, we can remember them and enjoy. Always keep the child in you awake — whether you are in your thirties, forties, fifties or above. The spirit should always be high and joyous.”
This was all about chapter three. I will soon come up with chapter 4. Till then, stay healthy, safe and Happy. Har Har Mahadev
Namaskar BinduRoop