A fishmonger in Banki, Odisha, is regularly visited by six snakes that beg for food and stay there until he closes.

Yudhishtir Pradhan noticed a snake feeding on some of the produce that fell into a nearby drain. He was not alarmed as he realised it was a harmless checkered keelback snake and decided to indulge it by throwing scraps whenever he saw it.

The number of snakes grew steadily and now as many as six snakes compete for the waste thrown by the fishmonger.

“They hide under the slab and appear as soon as I throw a scrap. If I don’t throw anything for some time, they surface, stare at me and go back into hiding,” Pradhan said.

A Snake Helpline coordinator, Lalit Mohan Panda, who has been visiting the spot daily to document the behaviour of snakes, said: “The snakes live elsewhere. They come here only three days a week, between 6.30 am to 10.30 am when the shop is open for business. Outside those hours they are nowhere to be seen.”

Subhendu Mallik, secretary of Snake Helpline, says the behaviour of the snakes is easily explained: “When the shop is open, there are more visitors in the area, resulting in more ground vibration. Snakes can easily pick it up. Also, snakes use their tongues to detect the smell. There is no way they can miss the smell of the fish on sale.

“We are learning a lot about these snakes. There seems to be a pecking order among them. The big ones always eat first followed by the smaller ones."

This footage was filmed on August 10.

Yudhishtir Pradhan, a fishmonger sets up a makeshift shop, to sell fish on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays in Banki in eastern India.

Whenever he opens shop, six snakes visit him begging for food and stay there till he closes shop.

Snakehelpine, a noted non-profit organisation, has been documenting the unique bond between the man and the snakes, and also creating awareness among his customers and nearby residents to not harm the reptiles.

Pradhan used to work as a tailor when the Covid 19 epidemic shut down his business in April. To feed his family, he decided to sell fish and set up a makeshift stall on a partially covered drain in front of his house.

After a few days he noticed a snake quietly feeding on the waste that accidentally fell into the drain when he cleaned the fish for customers. He was not alarmed as he realised it was a harmless checkered keelback snake and decided to indulge it by throwing scraps whenever he saw it.

The number of snakes grew steadily and now as many as six snakes compete for the waste thrown by Yudhishtir. “They hide under the slab and appear as soon as I throw a scrap. If I don’t throw anything for sometime, they surface, stare at me and go back to hiding,” he says.

The local residents are baffled that the snakes appear only when Pradhan opens his shop and leave as soon as he closes business for the day.

A Snake Helpline coordinator, Lalit Mohan Panda, who has been visiting the spot daily to document the behavior of snakes, says “The snakes live elsewhere. They come here only three days a week, between 6.30 am to 10.30 am, when the shop is open for business. Outside that they are nowhere to be seen.”

"How do they now that the shop is open. That's a big mystery," says Birabara Harichandan, a regular customer.

Subhendu Mallik, Secretary of Snake Helpline, says the behaviour of the snakes is easily explained.

“When the shop is open, there are more visitors in the area, resulting in more ground vibration. Snakes can easily pick it up. Also, snakes use their tongues to detect smell. There is no way they can miss the smell of the fish on sale,” he says.

“We are learning a lot about these snakes. There seems to be a pecking order among them. The big ones always eat first followed by the smaller ones, he added.”