Girl in Orissa weds cobra

From Upali Rupasinghe in New Delhi A girl in Orissa's Malkangiri district on the borders of Andra Pradesh and Chhatishgarh claims to have got married to a snake.

"The Asian Age' a widely read English national daily in a Bhuwaneswar based report 'Orissa girl weds cobra' said that the girl, Kusum, insists to have lived with the reptile all through her life.

Apart from different parts of the Orissa state, a large number of people from neighbouring states are thronging the girl's village everyday to have a glimpse of her.

A section of Oriya newspapers published from Bhuwaneswar reported last Saturday that a few days back, Kusum (15), of Kaliaguda tribal village in the Malkangiri district has told her father about her wish to marry the cobra who visited her frequently and it was the wish of God.

She had first met the reptile when she went to take a bath in the river Saveri nearby. While bathing she found a cobra getting wrapped around her. In a bid to save herself, the panic-stricken Kusum shook the reptile off and fell unconscious.

After she regained consciousness, she found the cobra just lying beside her.

Her family members and villagers dismissed her statement and even laughed at her. But to their surprise, they all started sighting the cobra often, and accordingly everybody has agreed with her wish.

"The marriage was solemnised with the cobra a few days ago," the newspapers said.