India, April 12 -- In Sandeer village of Karnal district, a 35-year-old unmarried man, Rajinder, had "Zahreela" attached to his name by awed villagers. He was a show-off who would shove a snake's head into his mouth to terrify villagers and establish a mohalla reputation of a filmy "daredevil". Or capture snakes with a "chimta" used by rural women to pull "rotis" from the fire. It all worked, because the ruralites did not realise Rajinder was pulling off these stunts with non-venomous species.

Rajinder nurtured another quirky trait. He would haunt the village cremation ground, take home the white sheets left by relatives of the dead and even break the "matkas" used in the last rituals. In order to display his contempt for death, Rajinder...