a Mother of a King Cobra

A story of a karma yogi and her love for her wild king Cobra - they share the same house....

Mataji or the Mother of the Soliga tribe at her cottage

The sun broke early or may we wake up early I think. We belong to the lazy city tribe who leave the bed only when someone provides that morning tea. Than we get up and run straight to the toilet where the world awaits us in the newspaper. But, that's not the case in Billigiriranganatha or B R Hills - a forest which is 85 kilometres from Mysuru, Karnataka. It's a forest that is still untouched by stampede of tourists who in the guise of wildlife lovers destroy the ethoes and discipline of the place.

Away from the crowds, the Online world and television news war - here you wake up automatically - I don't know how and that too very fresh. I think nature works on our bodies when we are near to it. As we got up the sounds of peacocks and different birds were resonating near the cottage. Far off a wild cry could be heard which Mataji told us that an elephant herd is on the move. I was fascinated by her knowledge about the jungle because she could recognise each bird with name and sound. This depth is wisdom that creeps in slowly and slowly in any person once someone lives a timelessness journey.

Left everything for unconditional service to the tribals

Mataji is the elder sister of my friend and brother Ramesh Muniyappa from Bangalore. Way back in 1979 she took sanyas or left the worldly pleasures to dedicate her life to a special tribe in B R Hills called Soligas. Soliga means children of the Bamboo. In 1979 she joined Ramkrishna Mission to serve the society unconditionally and in her quest to do so she met Dr Sudarshan who was already working with the tribe in B R Hills. So a team started working for the upliftment of the tribals as they made a school, some colleges and hospitals for them. A detailed story needs to be written separately on that.

Living in B R Hills for forty years she developed a special relationship with animals as well. There was a time when this forest was actually without any human boundaries and the team who was working for the Soligas had to encounter elephants and tigers on daily basis. Once Dr Sudarshan was sleeping in a hut when a wild tusker brought it down and Dr Sudarshan was literally under the feet of that giant. But he says something mystical saved him that night. These are basic encounters that kept happening while these karma yogis were working silently in the jungle away from any limelight.

small cottages of karma yogis of B R Hills

So, after some hardships the team started building some cottages so that they can have some levels of safety. But for Mataji the word safety is just a word... When she started living in her cottage one day a small king cobra appeared from nowhere. Both Mataji and him had an eye contact and than the toddler disappeared. Soon Mataji realised that the toddler king cobra was actually living in her backyard. She developed a kind of a motherly love towards him. She told me that he used to come out to bask in the sun while I was also out in the open and we both looked at each other as if we shared some jungle bond between us. He never tried to come near me neither I ever crossed my boundaries. He kept on growing up till he became a huge King Cobra - famous for his size and appearance. But even than he was a gentleman. "It often came to my mind that I touch him as a mother - because I saw him grew from a toddler to a young man but that feeling lived in me which I could not gather courage to fulfill".

a bison herd near Mataji's cottage

Laughingly she told me that once she was on her evening walk near her cottage. It was not that dark but about to get dark. Suddenly from nowhere a wild tiger just came face to face. Death was inevitable and I could not even shout for help. But, that boy just saw me with such innocence that I was mesmerised by his eyes. I have no words to describe that moment she told me but the beautiful master of the jungle left the road for me and vanished in the woods. Later in the night I thanked Gurudev Swami Vivekananda for that but actually jungle has its own ways. And surprisingly that tiger met me nearly five times after that but on every encounter the story was the same.....

“I love all the animals and I think they love me too. We respect each others space, otherwise I would have been dead long ago - they can kill me but never did - I am thankful to them” Mataji of B R Hills