A math teacher unfazed by the serpentine challenge

Sivan Pandiyan from Madurai has rescued over 7,000 snakes and put them back into the wild

As a mathematics teacher, N. Sivan Pandiyan, 37, inspires a love for numbers and innovates techniques to get his students to answer any challenging question. But it is his self-trained ability to rescue snakes that fascinates his students more.

“Your skills matter in both; it takes acute observation, razor-sharp brain, quick reflexes and solution,” he says. At 22, he instinctively rescued a rat snake in his brother’s house. The maiden success put him on a high and he began reading extensively to learn more. Between 2006 and now, he has been on emergency calls and helped over 7,000 snakes return to their wild habitation. And is still counting.

His claim is supported by the Forest Office in Madurai, where he is registered as a certified snake rescuer. He has caught cobras, common krait, Russell’s viper, besides several non-poisonous snakes, and released them in the forests of Alagar Koil, Pasumalai, Nagamalai Pudukkottai, depending on the area from where the snake was secured.