Some of us are humans, while some are human beings; there is a fine line between the two which is defined by our capacity for love, empathy and compassion. A renowned international actor recently said in his Oscar speech that we as human beings can do so much for all sentient beings; that we cannot love one animal species and condemn another. An extraordinary exemplary of this is TV actor Nirbhay Wadhwa, the Bali of &TV’s Kahat Hanuman Jai Shri Ram. Not many know this, but Nirbhay has been a staunch animal lover since childhood and specially feels for snakes and all reptiles alike. Even while on sets if he comes across a snake, he immediately jumps to its rescue and sends it back to its natural habitat. He has rescued innumerable snakes and gives credit to his friend who taught him all about animal rescuing, especially with that of snakes. Nirbhay has mastered the technicalities of holding them in a certain manner without hurting them, and we feel some part of credit must also be given to his unconditional love towards them. 

Expressing his love towards snakes, Nirbhay Wadhwa says, “I love reptiles, especially snakes. I have a pull towards them, an attachment I have felt since childhood. Today, it breaks my heart to see how people ill-treat these species when they appear in residential areas. I have seen oil being poured over them and people burning them only because of fear. But a snake gets equally scared seeing so many humans! It’s not right to kill snakes just because you are scared. What people fail to understand is that 90% of them are not even poisonous. You can call for help as there are many snakes rescuing organisations.”

He further adds, “We have infiltrated their habitat by cutting down forests for our own materialistic pleasures. Where are we really expecting the snakes to go? We aren’t true human beings if we cannot co-exist.”

Nirbhay is also a father to two adorable dogs, one of whom he rescued on a scary rainy night around two years ago.