How a snake charmer found Jesus on a street corner in India

Bujji performed with cobras for years. Then he heard a man preaching on John 5.

Bujji

Many people dislike street preaching because it can feel intrusive and confrontational.

Public spaces are shared environments, and unsolicited preaching — especially when delivered loudly or with a tone of urgency — can make bystanders feel uncomfortable.

But sometimes, that’s exactly how God grabs the attention of those who would never seek the gospel on their own.

As Paul wrote in Romans 10:14:

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”

I know several people who have come to faith in Christ after hearing the gospel outside of a church service — often while going about their day, whether working, walking, enjoying a concert, or doing chores with the TV on.

This week, I came across a new story.

Pastor KP is our liaison in India for The India Pastors Project, a ministry Chuck Myers and I founded close to five years ago.

Pastor KP told me about a Hindu snake charmer named Bujji, who was performing on a street in India when he overheard KP preaching from John 5 nearby, including these words from Jesus: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.”

KP told me:

“He was with his snakes, and he came up to me and asked me why I was promoting Jesus, who he said was the god for white people and the god for America and the god for Jerusalem, but not for India.

“But I told him Jerusalem is in Asia, the same continent as India, and that Jesus was the God over all the continents.”

Bujji (left) and Pastor KP.

Bujji had never heard and that before and wanted to know more about Jesus and Christianity.

Shortly afterwards, Bujji came to KP’s house and asked many more questions.

Five months later, Bujji, his wife and their two children attend KP’s church.

“He was a very, very bad guy, addicted to alcohol and tobacco products and drugs,” KP said. “Now he counts all of that as trash. He has given up snake charming and all his addictions. God chose that evil man to be a good man.”

Pastor KP has been on the receiving end of street preaching himself. As a young Hindu man decades ago — harboring a desire to kill a Christian one day — he heard a street preacher proclaim the gospel, and it changed his life forever.

Now KP is a bold witness for Christ in a country that is 80% Hindu and increasingly hostile to Christianity.

Snake Charmers

Snake charmers in India are traditional street performers who appear to "charm" snakes — usually venomous cobras — by playing a musical instrument called a pungi.

The snakes don’t actually respond to music. They follow the movement of the instrument or the charmer’s body, as snakes can’t hear airborne sounds well.

Snake charmers like Bujji also perpetuated the myth that some cobras carry a precious gem or diamond embedded in their heads.

Some even exploit the myth to sell fake gems to be used in wedding rings, Pastor KP told me. KP said charmers like Bujji would charge $20 to $50 for the fake gemstones.

“It is evil and it’s deceiving people and it’s cheating people,” KP said.

But God used KP’s street preaching to change Bujji — and to change his family. Bujji was baptized earlier this year.

“Bujji left all those snakes behind,” KP said. “Where he used to hold snakes, he now holds a Bible in his hands.”

In the New Testament, the gospel also confronted people who, like Bujji, claimed to practice magic or spiritual power.

For instance, in Ephesus, Acts 19 tells of many who practiced the occult but came to Christ. They brought their scrolls and publicly burned them, turning from magic to truth — at great personal cost. Whether their powers were real or imagined, their repentance was unmistakable.

Bujji’s story echoes theirs. When confronted with the gospel, he renounced his old life of deceit and turned to the truth.

Bujji’s story is a reminder that no one is beyond the reach of God’s grace — and that sometimes the most unexpected methods reach the most unexpected people.

Street preaching may offend some ears, but to others, it’s the sound of salvation.