Snakes are not as bad as i thought

On my second day in Simla, we headed to Kufri. It involved this lovely horse ride uphill through a road of mulch and horse dung to a park.
Frankly, I liked the horse ride part more than the park part, which mostly just had a lot of people trying to sell their wares. We walked around, after eating some chickpeas and Maggi at a shack there. That was then I saw her. A wizened old lady with a huge python on her lap. She asked me if I wanted a photo with the languid snake, told me it was just 30 Rupees. I wasn't sure I wanted to pay to have a snake around me just for the sake of a picture. But I had never touched a snake before, and I was very curious as to how it'd feel. So I asked her to go ahead and give her to me.

The poor thing was wrapped around my shoulder and just stayed put. I suppose I could empathise. I wouldn't want someone making money out of using me for entertainment.
That being said.. I've always been slightly frightened of snakes, and now, that I could finally hold one, I noticed a bunch of things. Their scales are incredibly shiny and beautiful. Not in the least slimy, like we wrongly assume. And they are super strong. I could feel her muscles contract and expand as she made herself comfortable, and I felt the trapped power. Third, they aren't violent creatures unless provoked.

I asked the lady what the snake was called after she took it back. 'Isko hum Jhansi ki Rani bulathe h', she told me. Somehow , the Rani of Jhansi seemed like a fitting name.