India the exotic

Yesterday, as i was strolling along after lunch, I was approached by a lady carrying a small handmade basket. She was mumbling something to me in a language i did not understand. As I tried to explain that i did not understand, she opens the basket and shoves it to my face. The basket was only 5 or 6 inches deep and inside neatly coiled was a snake hissing. Jumping back with a fright, i wondered if the lady was mad, shoving a potentially dangerous snake within a foot of my face. I continued walking but that encounter got me thinking about India, the land of the exotic. Although I am an Indian, i have spent a majority of my life outside of India. And when indigenious ppl find out that I am Indian, they curiously ask me... Do Indians really eat monkey brain as depicted in the Indy Jones flick? Do snake chammers really exist? Do fakirs realy sleep on a bed of nails. I used to brush off these questions with come on guys do you really think so. But after haveing moved to India, I have seen brain fry on the menu and snakes in a basket. I guess India is an exotic place after all and not just the coconut with a straw exotic.