WATCH WHERE YOU TAKE THAT SELFIE
Some people are obsessed with taking selfies, a habit that's usually harmless but can sometimes be dangerous. The Washington Post reported that 27 people died last year in selfie-related accidents, about half of them in India.
It's not smart to take a selfie while driving a car or flying a plane. It's also unwise to take a selfie with a wild animal. That may seem like common sense, but don’t tell that to Ashok Bishnoi.
Bishnoi was recently attacked by a python when he and others tried to take a selfie with it. According to a Reuters report, the python had been removed by forest department officials from a school in Rajasthan. While the officials were holding the snake, they allowed a group of onlookers, including Bishnoi, to take a selfie with it. The python promptly attacked Bishnoi, perhaps because it had not agreed to the selfie.
You will be glad to know that K. G. Shrivastav, the Deputy Conservator of Forests, is taking the incident very seriously. “Clicking selfies with the snake and releasing the photos publicly is an offense under the Wildlife Act, and we will issue notice to all involved in this incident,” he told Reuters.
Bishnoi, to his credit, is not deflecting blame for the incident. “I did not realize how close I was to the python and it attacked me,” he said. “This is entirely my fault.”
He should have known better—but so should many others, including the Spaniard who tried to take a selfie with a stampeding bull and was seriously injured. So here’s a piece of advice: if you’re going to take a selfie while sitting on a railway track or standing beside a wild animal, please make sure you write a will first.
Compiled and partly written by Indian humorist MELVIN DURAI, author of the novel Bala Takes the Plunge.
[Comments? Contributions? We would love to hear from you about Chai Time. If you have contributions, please email us at melvin@melvindurai.com. We welcome jokes, quotes, online clips, and more.]
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