Tuesday, November 24, 2009 RANCHI: A young man named Pilu Sahay of Bansjhal village in India’s Chhattisgarh Jashpur district has a bizarre addiction of consuming snake venom.To fulfill his need for venom, Sahay first catches a snake from the forests or other open fields in the vicinity of his village, extracts venom and stores it for his use.Sahay, now in his thirties, claims to have been consuming venom for the past two decades, 21 years to be precise.He also catches poisonous snakes from the adjoining villages and later frees them in the forests for the safety of fellow villagers."I have an addiction for snakes, I get myself bitten from the snakes. I eat the venom by mixing it with uncooked rice. The bites do not scare me, in fact, I love being bitten by the snakes. For me, consuming snake venom is like consuming any other food like pulses," Sahay said.Sahay further mentioned that he learnt this skill from his master whose name was not disclosed and who also had a habit of consuming venom.
Sunday, February 28, 2010 HAVANA: Hundreds of wealthy merchants and cigar aficionados from all parts of the world gathered in Havana this week to bid high stakes for humidors full of premium cigars. Cuba's annual Habanos festival ended on Friday night with an auction of ornate humidors of cedar and mahogany stacked with hand-rolled stogies that raised 800,000 euros ($1.09 million dollars). Habanos S.A. executives this month said cigar sales fell 8 percent to $360 million in 2009, so they have created the Julieta, a smaller, milder version of the Romeo y Julieta cigar, aimed specifically at female smokers. Women now make up only 5 to 10 percent of customers for Habanos. But even with the creation of the Julieta, Garcia said Habanos has only modest hopes for 2010 sales, due largely to a weak economy in Spain, the biggest market for Cuban cigars. The flavor of premium tobacco relies on the soil and climate in which it is grown. The western province of Pinar Del Rio, famous fo...
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