A snake on display at the Sraban Sankranti mela. Picture by Amit Datta

Chakdaha in Nadia is known for its syrupy sweets — jilipi, chandrapuli, rasbora. But this time of the year, the town stands out for something quite the opposite — venom.

On the last Tuesday of the month of Sraban falls Sraban Sankranti, when snake goddess Manasa is worshipped across Bengal. Thousands throng the Khedaitola Manasa Mela in Bishnupur village, which is under the Chakdaha municipality.

At the fair, snake charmers and handlers from near and afar display a wide variety of snakes and even sell venom.

The fair, which is 300 years old, starts at 4am and continues till dusk. It covers the villages of Bishnupur, Padmabila, Bishwaspara, Sahispur and Mathurgachi.

At the centre is Bishnupur village that houses the twin temples of goddess Manasa, dating back to the 17th century, at Khedaitola para. Legend has it that Goddess Manasa appeared in a dream to a local fisherman Khedai Bagdi, asking to be worshipped.

Following her directive, Khedai established the goddess’s shrine at the foot of a neem tree. Soon, the goddess started visiting the ailing and their families in their sleep and directing them to pray at Khedai’s village. Khedai the fisherman came to be known as Khedaibaba. The Sraban Sankranti mela started soon after.

Today, the fair receives a footfall of over a lakh. Snake charmers line the way to the twin temples with their baskets, displaying venomous species like the gokhro (spectacled and binocellate cobras), keutey (monocled cobras), chandrabora (Russell’s vipers) and saw-scaled vipers. This year there was a rare baby King Cobra on display.

Not all the handlers have been in the profession for generations. Some, like Nimai, used to be a farmer till he woke up to the charm of being a charmer; catching snakes and selling the venom fetches a neat sum.

Others such as Asgar and Nur Muhammad have learnt the trade from their fathers and grandfathers. They sit nonchalantly with a 6ft cobra in one hand and a child on the lap. Most of the charmers sell the venom at herpetologist Deepak Mitra’s snake park in Badu, Madhyamgram; some sell at Calcutta Medical College.