Snake man / Snake Manu

O indiano Manu, 31 anos, da cidade de Chennai, diz já ter tido experiências com vários tipos de cobras, e diz que sua espécie favorita é a "cobra", por sua feroz agilidade. É um maluco.

Manu diz que aos oito anos divertia seus colegas de escola enfinado giz e borrachas nas próprias narinas e puxando-as para fora pela boca, antes de resolver tentar fazer o mesmo com cobras vivas.

Ele teve essa idéia esquisita quando fazia Yoga, aos 13 anos. Seu guru o fez acreditar que toda pessoa tem habilidade de fazer algo singular. Primeiro, praticou com um arame, depois fios e giz. Enfim, passou para as cobras.

Manu admite que já foi picado várias vezes, e diz que, às vezes, dói, especialmente quando a cobra é das grandes, mas ele se concentra no relaxamento com as técnicas de Yoga.

Manu, 31, from the southern city of Chennai, claims to have experimented with almost all varieties of snakes, including cobras, common kraits, sand boas and rat snakes but said his favourite was the cobra because of its ferocious agility.

Manu, a high school drop-out, said that as an eight-year-old he would amuse his classmates by inserting chalk and erasers into his nostrils and pulling them out through his mouth, before deciding to try the unusual alternative of live snakes.

He passes the snake through the passage which connects the back of the throat to the nasal cavity.

The married father-of-two said: "I got the idea to feed snakes through my nose while I was attending a yoga class aged 13.

"My guru made me believe that every person has the ability to do something unique. All my friends used to do different tricks and I also wanted to do something different.

"I first practised with a wire. I used to put wire into my nose and pull it through my mouth. I also used to pull threads and chalk. Then I switched to snakes". Admitting he has been bitten several times while attempting the bizarre trick, Manu claims to shrug off the pain.

"Sometimes it hurts, particularly if a big snake bites me, but I concentrate on being relaxed through yoga techniques.