I felt a sense of pride and joy as I sat in front of the TV and watched my Irula brothers and mentors, Vadivel Gopal and Masi Sadaiyan, receive the prestigious Padma Shri award. The hard work they had put in all these years was finally being recognised. I felt, I too, had received an award that morning – because I am also from the Irula community, and our forte is catching snakes.
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This article I wrote was published in the Current Conservation Magazine, in the kids section. Last year, Masi Sadaiyan and Vadivel Gopal of the Irula tribe, received the Padma Shri award for contributing much to the world of herpetology. My article covers their journey to Florida to catch invasive Burmese pythons and the tribe's history with snake catching.
Please check out the rest of the article in the CC Magazine, along with the other writings in this edition. Here is a link to my article on the CC website.
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