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Ready to slither with snakes for New Year
By Hardik Mhatre |
January 30, 2013, Wednesday
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Print Edition
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WE are seeing the preparations going around for celebrating Chinese New Year. I am particularly excited as it is the Year of the Snake, one of the animals with which I am truly fascinated.
But I always wonder why most people dislike snakes. They can be dangerous, but there are many reasons why they are important creatures. Snakes are an important symbol in Indian, Cambodian, Greek, Nordic and African mythologies. In China snake soup is a delicacy. In traditional Chinese culture, a snake is considered calm, wise and flexible.
I love watching Steve Irwin shows and his encounters with snakes. I have had my own adventures with snakes as well. I have had a python on my shoulders at the Singapore Zoo and at a zoo in Sydney, when I was just eight years old. Another adventure was on Langkawi Island in Malaysia. I saw a huge anaconda on a table in the middle of the road and the owner said it was 10 ringgit to hold the anaconda. To be honest, it looked pretty scary as I didn't know if the snake was tame. The owner of the snake along with another person helped keep the heavy snake on my shoulders. As I looked at its mouth, my heart started to beat faster. Soon I felt as if there was a heavy stone on my shoulders. It weighed around 35 kilograms. I thought he could squeeze me and I told the owner to take it off my neck, but it was still an awesome experience.
Sometimes humans need to kill snakes for defense but all animals serve a purpose and keep our ecosystem balanced. Snakes eat mice and rats invading our homes, so to thrive ourselves we need to let them thrive too. Ancient Chinese wisdom says a snake in the house is a good omen because it means that your family will not starve. If you dream about snakes, it's considered to be lucky.
The zodiac-snake stamp for the upcoming year is also on sale in post offices. The snake on the stamps looks very flowery and auspicious.
I feel honored and privileged to be in Shanghai, to have an opportunity to welcome in the Year of the Snake. I am going to collect the snake stamp and respect snakes. How about you?
(Hardik Mhatre is Year 8 student of BISS.)
But I always wonder why most people dislike snakes. They can be dangerous, but there are many reasons why they are important creatures. Snakes are an important symbol in Indian, Cambodian, Greek, Nordic and African mythologies. In China snake soup is a delicacy. In traditional Chinese culture, a snake is considered calm, wise and flexible.
I love watching Steve Irwin shows and his encounters with snakes. I have had my own adventures with snakes as well. I have had a python on my shoulders at the Singapore Zoo and at a zoo in Sydney, when I was just eight years old. Another adventure was on Langkawi Island in Malaysia. I saw a huge anaconda on a table in the middle of the road and the owner said it was 10 ringgit to hold the anaconda. To be honest, it looked pretty scary as I didn't know if the snake was tame. The owner of the snake along with another person helped keep the heavy snake on my shoulders. As I looked at its mouth, my heart started to beat faster. Soon I felt as if there was a heavy stone on my shoulders. It weighed around 35 kilograms. I thought he could squeeze me and I told the owner to take it off my neck, but it was still an awesome experience.
Sometimes humans need to kill snakes for defense but all animals serve a purpose and keep our ecosystem balanced. Snakes eat mice and rats invading our homes, so to thrive ourselves we need to let them thrive too. Ancient Chinese wisdom says a snake in the house is a good omen because it means that your family will not starve. If you dream about snakes, it's considered to be lucky.
The zodiac-snake stamp for the upcoming year is also on sale in post offices. The snake on the stamps looks very flowery and auspicious.
I feel honored and privileged to be in Shanghai, to have an opportunity to welcome in the Year of the Snake. I am going to collect the snake stamp and respect snakes. How about you?
(Hardik Mhatre is Year 8 student of BISS.)
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