An Indian man in Lakhimpur, Uttar Pradesh, arrived at the hospital yesterday in the strangest company: a snake in a plastic jar.
Hariswaroop Mishra, 40, had been bitten by the snake, a cobra, and though he was in a state of panic, as a cobra is one of the most venomous snakes in India, he managed to capture the snake and bring it with himself.
A video of the man holding the snake in the plastic jar while sitting on the hospital bed has gone viral on social media.
Strange as it seemed, bringing the snake along was the smart move for Hariswaroop, because identifying the snake species helped the hospital doctors quickly find the right antidote for the venom.
Snakes slithering into houses to seek shelter from the rain during peak monsoon is not uncommon in the hinterlands of India. An accidental snakebite can be remedied with the right antidote, if given quickly enough.
The entry of Hariswaroop into the hospital was quite dramatic. He rushed in, screaming, “Isi naag ne kaata, jaldi se ilaaj kar do! (This is the snake that has bitten me, treat me quickly!)”
Those present at the hospital praised the man’s courage in catching the snake and securing it in the plastic jar.
In the viral video, a person can be heard saying, “Very good, very good, bahut achchha,” and asking his name, to which he replies, “My name is Hariswaroop Ramchandra Mishra.”
The person then says, “Arey, Pandit Ji, chha gaye yaar tum toh. Aur koi aadmi yeh kaam kar nahi sakta. (Wow, Pandit Ji, you’ve become a hero. No one else could have done this.)”
Hariswaroop showed his hand where the snake had bitten him and explained that he had immediately caught the snake after being bitten.
The hospital authorities recorded the video, which is now circulating on social media. In the video, a hospital staff member can be seen preparing an injection to administer to the patient.
(The article is published under a mutual content partnership arrangement between The Free Press Journal and Connected to India)
