Sunday, August 04, 2013

Sunday Snap: 'Star' Snake-Charmer Now, Without A Snake

By Ravikant Raute / INN Photo Desk

Raohtasnath, a 50-year-old snake-charmer, first made his mark when he entered the Guinness Book of World Records for blowing his been pipe continuously for nine hours. He has also worked in the film Tum Mere Ho, which features Aamir Khan as a man with magical snake-charming powers and Juhi Chawla, and in plays for the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony as well as with Tom Alter and Zohra Sehgal. However, Raohtasnath’s snake was taken away by the government, which cited ‘cruelty against animals’ as its reason, even though he claims that he used to treat his reptile like a son. Now, Raohtasnath is a struggling artist who plays at Surajkund in Faridabad and earns about Rs.100 each day.