https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Snakes, Ladders, and Folk Songs: South Panna’s Clever Play for Snakebite Safety

This World Snake Day (16th July), IFS Anupam Sharma’s South Panna Forest Division is turning awareness into action with playful Snake & Ladder games and Bundeli Alha songs to fight deadly snakebites
Indian Masterminds Stories

Inside the dense forests of South Panna in Madhya Pradesh, a young Indian Forest Service officer is finding innovative ways to fight one of India’s deadliest but least talked-about killers, snakebite. Anupam Sharma, a 2018-batch IFS officer currently serving as Divisional Forest Officer, South Panna, has turned World Snake Day 2025 into something truly special, about which he exclusively shared details with Indian Masterminds.

This year, Sharma and his team have rolled out not just awareness pamphlets or routine lectures, but something that children and villagers will actually pick up, play with, and remember. A Snake & Ladder game that could save lives!

The South Panna Forest Division has designed two special versions of the age-old game. The twist? Each ladder lifts the player up with a good practice, like keeping the house surroundings clean, wearing gumboots in fields, or rushing to a hospital immediately after a bite. Each snake drags you down for doing something risky, like sleeping on the floor without a net, trying unscientific remedies, or harming snakes out of fear.

The snakes aren’t just any cartoon reptiles either. They’re real. They represent the deadliest species that claim hundreds of lives in rural MP every year: Cobra, Russell’s Viper, and the Common Krait. To make it even more rooted, the board is decked with Gond tribal art, so it doesn’t just teach; it connects with local identity.

“We wanted to make awareness simple, visual, and something that sticks with kids and adults alike,” says Anupam Sharma. “A simple game can sometimes teach what a thousand instructions cannot.”

THE POWER OF SONG IN THE HEART OF BUNDELKHAND

But Anupam Sharma’s team didn’t stop at board games. They turned to the region’s most powerful medium for storytelling, folk music. Bundelkhand has a rich tradition of ‘Alha’ songs that celebrate bravery and deeds in a narrative style that echoes through village courtyards even today.

What better way, Sharma thought, than to use this powerful local art to warn people about snakebites? And so, the South Panna Forest Division commissioned a special Alha composition, crafted by Dr. Suresh Srivastava ‘Saurabh’ and his team, which narrates the dos and don’ts in simple Bundeli.

The song busts myths about black magic and miracle cures, urges villagers to rush victims to a hospital instead of local quacks, and shares practical steps to avoid snake encounters. The audio is now being played through Village Forest Committees, WhatsApp groups, and local gatherings, echoing life-saving advice across dusty village paths.

“Songs have always been the strongest carriers of wisdom here. When people sing it, they own it, and they remember it when it is actually required.”

TAKING SNAKE AWARENESS WHERE IT MATTERS MOST

On this World Snake Day, Sharma and his forest guards will be demonstrating the new Snake & Ladder games in schools across snakebite-prone villages. Children will play, laugh, learn, and carry the message back home.

Meanwhile, the Alha will reach ears that posters or campaigns often miss: elderly women by a chulha, farmers resting under a neem tree, or young men on their phones late at night. It’s simple, relatable, and in their language.

“Snakebite deaths can be avoided if we tackle fear with facts. It’s about taking knowledge to the last mile, one game, one song at a time,” he shared with Indian Masterminds.

CHANGING THE ODDS, ONE MOVE AT A TIME

In India, snakebites kill more people than many headline-grabbing diseases. In places like South Panna, the victims are often farmers, children playing barefoot, or people sleeping on the floor. Many never reach a hospital in time because myths and panic get in the way.

Anupam Sharma’s approach is quietly rewriting that story by meeting fear with play and superstition with folk wisdom turned into science. One board game and one folk song may seem small, but in villages where snakes and people share the same land, they could mean the difference between life and death.

On this World Snake Day, as the new Snake & Ladder boards roll out in schools and the Bundeli Alha rings through village speakers, the message is clear: learning to live safely with snakes doesn’t have to be scary. Sometimes, it can even be a game.


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
G20
India to Highlight Renewable Energy Achievements at G20 Energy Transitions Meet in South Africa
Rajnath Singh
Rajnath Singh Urges States to Strengthen India’s Defence Manufacturing for ₹3 Lakh Crore Goal by 2029
Electronics Corporation of India Limited ECIL
Leadership Update: Anil Kumar Chawla Recommended as Director (Personnel) of ECIL by PESB Panel
Children Student
Future-Ready Learning: Gujarat Govt Mandates Schools to Offer Vocational Subjects from Class 11 Onwards
Gujarat Vikas Saptah
24 Years of Gujarat’s Development Under PM Modi: Vikas Saptah to Spotlight Massive Progress
Liquor Scam
Chhattisgarh's Rs. 140 Crore Rice Milling Scam: Former IAS Anil Tuteja, Businessman Anwar Dhebar Chargesheeted by EOW - Know More!
yogi
UP CM Yogi Adityanath Distributes Sewing Machines and Laptops to 250 Trainees, Boosts Women’s Skill Development in Kashi
CM Hemant Soren
Saranda Sanctuary at Crossroads: CM Soren Consults Legal Experts Amid Supreme Court Pressure
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IDES Saquib Alam
UPSC Strategy & Mindset Tips from IDES Officer Saquib Alam | Video Interview 
Dr G K Goswami IPS
Everything you ever wanted to know about e-murder, e-dacoity and data safety
IFS Ravikant Meena UPSC IFS
Ravikant Meena on IFS Preparation, Optionals, and Life in Forest Service
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
Jitendra Baghel MPPSC
7 Years, 4 Interviews, Now Dy.SP: How Jitendra Baghel Cracked MPPSC Through Relentless Struggle
Jitendra Baghel’s inspiring journey from a humble farming background to MPPSC Dy.SP showcases relentless...
IDES Saquib Alam
UPSC Strategy & Mindset Tips from IDES Officer Saquib Alam | Video Interview 
Discover how IDES officer Saquib Alam left his corporate job at Mahindra, overcame six UPSC attempts,...
Utkarsh Ujjwal IAS
IAS Utkarsh Ujjwal Shares Key Advice for UPSC Aspirants: Work Ethic, Failure, and Focus
Read the inspiring journey of IAS Utkarsh Ujjwal, 2023 batch, Gujarat cadre. From IIT Guwahati to clearing...
Social Media
World Rhino Day India
On World Rhino Day, IFS Officer Parveen Kaswan Shares Rare Insights - India Now Hosts 80% of the World’s One-Horned Rhinos
September 22 Marks Global Call for Rhino Conservation; India Holds 80% of World’s Greater One-Horned...
Parag Madhukar Dhakate
Relentless Rains Wreak Havoc in Dehradun: IFS officer PM Dhakate Warns Citizens Amid Flash Floods
Cloudbursts in Dehradun triggered flash floods. IFS officer Dr. PM Dhakate warned citizens to stay indoors...
Forest Guard Tiger Encounter
Tigers Clash in the Wild as Forest Guards Capture Rare Footage , Retired IFS Mohan Pargaien Posts Viral Video
Retired IFS officer Mohan Pargaien shares viral video of three tigers brawling in Ramnagar, as forest...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
G20
India to Highlight Renewable Energy Achievements at G20 Energy Transitions Meet in South Africa
Rajnath Singh
Rajnath Singh Urges States to Strengthen India’s Defence Manufacturing for ₹3 Lakh Crore Goal by 2029
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IDES Saquib Alam
Dr G K Goswami IPS
IFS Ravikant Meena UPSC IFS
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT