Buti Nath flips the lid of a basket and a cobra slowly emerges. The deadly reptile begins to sway as Buti plays his gourd flute.

He is a member of an ancient tribe of snake charmers known as saperas, who over the generations have thrived on catching venomous snakes and making them dance to their music.

"More than seven generations of our families have been doing this and so are we," Buti Nath, 65, said in his dusty village of Jogi Dera in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state.