Snake City!

You know they never roll the streets up 'cause there's always somethin' goin' (Surf City, here we come)
You know they're either out surfin' or they got a party growin' (Surf City, here we come)
Yeah, and there's two swingin' honeys for every guy
And all you gotta do is just wink your eye

  And we're goin' to Surf City, 'cause it's two to one
  You know we're goin' to Surf City, gonna have some fun
  You know we're goin' to Surf City, 'cause it's two to one
  You know we're goin' to Surf City, gonna have some fun, now
  Two girls for every boy
(Jan Berry-Brian Wilson, Surf City)

Substitute 'snake' for 'surf' and that old Jan and Dean song could pretty well describe the village of Choto Pashla in the West Bengal state of India. There are around 3,000 snakes - mostly cobras - and about 6,000 people.

The village of Choto Pashla in West Bengal state has one snake for every two residents, mainly the poisonous monocled cobra, a black reptile with a yellow ring around its neck that can grow to seven feet (two metres) in length.

Such snakes are found everywhere — in rice fields, ditches, muddy ponds and even sometimes sunning themselves by houses — and no one appears to fear them.

"The poison-fanged reptiles represent a way of life in Choto Pashla. People of the neighbouring villages are scared to come here," said Samir Chatterjee, the local school headmaster, who has written a book about the snakes.

"A recent count by the villagers found there are more than 3,000 snakes in this village of 6,000 people."

The Geological Survey of India is studying the village to figure out why the cobras are flourishing there, an official said.

"We wonder why a particular species of snakes is thriving in this village," said the official, asking not to be named. "We are looking into the topography of the village."

Well, let's see: the snakes are worshiped rather than being exterminated and the residents feed the snakes daily, too. I wonder why there are so many of them? That's a real head scratcher. About a dozen villagers die each year from snakebite - which also helps keep the 2 to 1 ratio intact, one presumes. When a snake dies, the village gets together and puts it into an earthen jar and tosses it into the Ganges River. (One presumes the folks living downstream are wise to this trick by now and don't open the jars if they find them bobbing along).

Anyway, with a minor rework of the lyrics, we believe Snake City by the Bengali Boys could be a monster hit. We fully expect a commission if this comes to pass.