Requiem For a Photographer

Hissing sounds make me squirm. It may be a dry leaf moving on the floor, sandstone paper on metal or simply someone dragging his slipper. There is the faintest hiss, and my antennae start vibrating furiously. You know you are right! You know exactly where I am heading. Snakes frighten me. I guess most people feel the same but with me, it is a morbid fear. There are these snake charmers, snake rescuers and reptile lovers but I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would even want to be near them.

I am a semiprofessional photographer and love to shoot human interest stories. However, given an opportunity I shoot fashion, sports, portraiture and when possible, wildlife. In search of interesting shots photographers often throw caution to the wind and I am no exception. Despite getting on with the years and creaking joints I often push myself to places and situations no person would normally would. The periphery of Dehradun was once a lush jungle and now even though rapid urbanization has severely depleted the forest cover a lot of uninhabited area still survives.

It was one of those days when I had had enough of urban cacophony and decided to find succour in whatever was left of the forest. I was hoping to find some birds and maybe a Nilgai. An unfruitful two hours in the blistering sun later I decided to call it a day. Just as I turned to go back, I heard a rustling sound in the dense shrubs nearby. I raised my camera in breathless expectation. An animal at last! A beautiful deer, doe eyes and all emerged in the open. A full frontal shot or an angular one where one can capture the curious eyes is what I wanted. Almost on cue, the deer turned its head. I got my shot but the deer turned and started moving away! I should have left it alone but we, the photographers are greedy people. Just a few more, I told myself and started following it. This was my lucky day! The little beauty was posing like a professional model, and I was like a breathless suitor. I usually tend to lose all sense of time and space when I shoot, totally oblivious to what is happening around me. But I kept having this feeling that I was being followed. A few times I looked around but found no one. Some more shots and then I heard it, loud and clear! His! My blood froze! There was no mistaking this. There was a snake around and I was all alone in the wilderness. Do not panic, I told myself. Snakes smell fear. Stand still. The deer moved away and suddenly all went quiet. There wasn’t a sound anywhere except the thudding of my heart. His! It was nearer but sounded less menacing. I closed my eyes, preparing for the inevitable, praying furiously for deliverance. His, was a more intense one this time and terrifyingly I felt a movement right next to me. Ever so slowly, I turned to confront who I thought was the agent of my demise. I opened my eyes. The sight of a King Cobra, even in captivity, is frightening even from a safe distance. And here it was, unrestrained in a forest, standing majestically erect, with shining jet-black scales and eyes that pierced through me. Is it going to strike? When will it strike? It’s not moving! Can I run away? Weirdly, I even thought for a second if I could take a picture but apart from my terror-struck eyes, I couldn’t move anything. And then it moved. Coiling and uncoiling on the ground it meandered its way towards me. I shut my eyes again and invoked all the Gods I could remember, promising to do or not do everything I was supposed and not supposed to do. They were not listening as that ten-foot-long slithering monster wrapped itself around my feet. Here it comes I thought, the painful strike and fatal injection of venom. It didn’t. I forced my eyes open again. The snake was looking at me, almost gently, if that was possible. Was it assessing what I would taste like? More intense prayers followed and a Hanuman Chalisa for good measure. Suddenly it uncoiled, rapidly moving away and stopped a little distance away. The Gods heard me, have they? Hanuman Ji never fails! I slowly walked backwards keeping a firm eye on the Cobra. It held still till I was about fifteen feet away and then started following me. That did it! I forgot all the pearls of wisdom regarding safety measures in the forest and started running, nay galloping, towards civilization. I ran for about a kilometre before I dared to look backwards again. No sign of anything. Not taking a chance I sprinted the final half a kilometre to where I had parked my jeep. Quickly I gunned the engine. The open Willys sprang to life with a roar. I engaged the first gear, and the jeep moved forward and immediately spluttered into silence. My lucky day, I thought bitterly. These old Willys belong in a museum, and I had kept it solely for sentimental reasons. I ran to open the bonnet to see what was wrong but not before taking a long hard look around me to ensure that nothing was following me. It took me about ten minutes of tinkering with the engine, moving a few nuts and bolts before I thought the old lady was ready to fire again. Another fifteen minutes of reckless driving and I was back at the rest house where I was camping with my and a few other friends’ families. I yelled out that I was back and went back towards the vehicle to retrieve my camera gear. I picked up the bag and there it was again. That evil, black monster gave me that intense stare. I dropped the bag and pulled my hand away, but it was faster. In a lightening move it lashed towards me and wrapped itself around my arm, its eyes fixated on mine… one foot apart! I felt it pulling me away, towards itself, almost commanding me to move. I stumbled a few steps and fell. I could hear voices and the sound of people moving inside the rest house. I let out an anguished cry again and tried to get up but my vision was blocked by the massive hood of the Cobra, swaying menacingly in front of me. This time there was no gentleness. It opened its mouth wide, baring its massive fangs. Saliva dripped from the sides. Another graceful yet deadly sway of the hood backwards, with a powerful swoosh leapt at me. Instinctively I raised my hand to protect myself and the fangs buried themselves into my wrist.

The neurotoxin in a cobra’s venom affects the central nervous system and extreme pain is followed by blurred vision, paralysis and if left untreated, death within 30 minutes. I could no longer speak and barely see but I could feel the cobra unwinding next to my body and that sharp hissing sound pervaded my ears. Strangely the hiss was beginning to sound different, almost like a gentle communication, lulling me to sleep. I raised my head again, desperate for someone to notice my plight and help. Where was everyone? I called out again, but own voice was now like a guttural rasp. And then, to my utter joy my wife and a few friends ran out of the rest house. I wept in relief but to my shock I saw them stop dead in their track. One of my friends, in a protective gesture spread his hands to prevent anyone from moving further. Move you idiots, I screamed and all I got in response was scared looks. They looked on helplessly as I felt myself being dragged away.

Post Script:

Dehradun Times: A search and rescue mission has been ordered by the District Magistrate to look for a Nat Geo photographer who was last seen going into the Raja Ji National Park. Mysteriously the vehicle he was traveling in was found next to the rest house he and his family was staying in. The police are also investigating if there is a kidnapping for ransom angle to this story. Meanwhile the public has been advised to be careful in their movements as two huge King Cobras have been sighted near the Forest Rest House. The guests there had a narrow escape.

Post Post Script

At the time I wondered how a snake, even as powerful as a King Cobra, could drag a fully grown man! In the dying moments of my human consciousness, I looked towards the ground which was extending its distance between me, and my loved ones and I could not feel my feet. In its place, there was a swiveling black tail with black scales. And then I was lost in a vortex of myriad colors which after what seemed a millennium cleared into a sharp vision. I was back in the forest, the grass I loved so much and the deer who ran when I looked at them. By my side was that beautiful black Cobra now smiling at me indulgently. Ever so gently she whispered…. You are mine now !