by Richie Lasrado - Daijiworld.com, Mangalore
Pics Yathiraj Moodbidri

Mangalore / Moodbidri, Aug 25: K Ashok from Moodbidri has several duties to perform, from being an employee of Shri Dhavala College, to serving as a dedicated Home Guard, a snake-catcher, a wildlife-lover and more - all rolled into one.

Daijiworld spoke to him on Thursday, while he was in the process of catching a snake, which he later set free in a forest area in the vicinity. A day earlier he gave a demo to his fellow-Home Guards on how to catch snakes when they were found straying in human habitats.

Views of the demo to fellow-Home Guards

That being his most favourite hobby, people of Moodbidri and around now do not have to scream 'eeks!' and run for their life in horror and live in scare on spotting a reptile. Just a phone call away, Ashok would take care of the situation, thereby doing a favour to both complainant and the creeping visitor.

If wild animals and living beings are found in the open, he catches them, tends and cares for them and then sets them free in the wild.

Ashok seen tending a wild cat which was later set free in the forest

Although Ashok has studied up to only IX Standard, today he is the most-sought-after man in any emergency, be it a case of accidental fire, drowning and the like. He has responded to calls from various places like Beltangady, Adyarpadav, Kallamundkur, Beluvai and many others over the past years. All his missions have been successful.

The most fulfilling adventure undertaken by him so far was the retrieval of bodies of two men who died in a wall collapse in Chikmagalur, after a gap of two weeks, when every attempt by others until then had failed. That was about twenty years ago.

Ashok has displayed great human qualities in other ways also. He has donated blood six times and saved lives. Once he found a wallet containing Rs 19,000 and took all the trouble to trace the owner, Abdul Latif of Naeema Tempo Service, and return it to him. He has also fished out dead bodies in many cases of drowning and also saved a few from drowning.

In recognition of all his good deeds, Ashok has been honoured by different organizations and institutions on 15 occasions. Local leaders are taking steps to have him suitably honoured by the government with a civil decoration.

For sporting a huge moustache, he has been fondly nicknamed "Meese Ashok" by local citizens. ("Meese" is Kannada for moustache.)

A contented family man, Ashok lives with wife, and two children - a daughter studying in II PUC and a son in VIII Std.

In any emergencies of the aforementioned kind, Ashok can be contacted on his cell: 98807 47137