The Sultry Sunderbans

chillibreeze writer — Rachna Pandey

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“Monotonous, inhospitable, and dangerous.” This is how a website described my destination – the Sunderbans. So I arrived in Kolkata leaving behind an extremely anxious mother (like she really needed a reason to be anxious!)

The Sunderbans sprawls over a large chunk of India and Bangladesh, with the latter holding the major share. There are 102 islands in the 9630 sq. km. of the Sunderbans that is in India. At present though, only around 4264 sq. km. of the total area remains under forest cover and out of this, forest land of 2585 sq. km. forms the largest Tiger Reserve and National Park in India.

The holy Ganga journeys down through the Himalayas and flows along the plains into the state of West Bengal. By merging with two other major rivers, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna, she creates the world’s largest delta and the Sunderbans, which is the home of the largest mangrove forest in the world. Considering the significance of these forests, the Sunderbans was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 and a Biosphere Reserve in 1989.

After an early breakfast at 6 AM, I left Kolkata for an 80 km drive to Sonakhali from where I took a 2.5 hour boat ride to Sojnekhali where I was to stay. I was shown into my room and was strictly told to keep the windows and doors closed lest some unwanted visitors make off with my belongings. These “robbers” are the resident monkeys who pick up anything that catches their fancy! It was amusing to see one of them stealthily enter one of the rooms and make off with an orange, although the lady whose orange it was did not quite share my amusement as she drove the monkey away, screaming at the top of her voice!

I did not want to waste a minute of my time there and rushed out, hoping to see as much as I could before sunset. In a landscape dominated by great tidal creeks and waterways, the only way to access the area is on boats. Since there have been incidents when visitors have been confronted by man-eating tigers, strict precautions are taken to avoid casualties and all boats carrying tourists have to be motorized and covered; a vessel from which visitors can enjoy the forests and wildlife and hopefully, a place safe from dangerous encounters. All over the national park, traveling on foot is allowed only in specific areas like around watchtowers and designated settlements. Although this ensured that we were safe and sound, the noise of the motorized boats plying all around and the limited range of our excursions unfortunately limited the probability of wildlife sightings.

The Sunderbans is home to spotted deer, wild boars, monkeys, estuarine terrapins, crocodiles, Olive Ridley turtles, Ganges dolphins, water monitors, king cobras, rock pythons, and almost 300 Royal Bengal tigers. The bird list includes mangrove whistlers, herons, swamp partridge, kingfishers, white-bellied eagles, grey-headed lapwing, Pallas’s fish-eagle, lesser adjutant stork, and many more. During my stay here, I spotted a few deer, boars, monkeys, crocodiles, and birds. The others remained elusive.

The boat ride along the outer edges of the national park got tiresome in the heat with nothing to see. I would jump at a rustle in the woods but then sit back down dejected looking at yet another deer relaxing without a care in the world. I started to envy the adventurers who trudged in the mud searching for the live treasures of the forests. I could have done with a man-eating tiger or two at this point. Later, when a friend asked me how my trip was, I showed her a picture I had taken of the river lined with mangroves and said, "This image multiplied by two days was how it was!"

The tigers of the Sunderbans are known to be man-eaters, mainly because of the lack of other prey in the area. The local villagers need the forest for their sustenance and are an easy target for the tigers. Their only protection it seems is Bonbibi, the Goddess of the forest who, according to local folk culture, is believed to protect the villagers. She is unfailingly worshipped by them before they enter the forest.

The boat stopped at one of the watchtowers in the park called Sudhanyakhali. It has a great view of the forest ahead and the river behind it which assures a spectacular view of the setting sun with the color of the sky changing from blue to different hues of orange, red, pink, and finally black. Although I did not chance upon any tigers, I did come across pugmarks along the river—in the quiet of the night a tiger had taken a leisurely stroll by the waterline and then probably swum across looking for an easy meal. How exciting!

To me, every channel after every bend looked exactly like the next one, varying only in width. Somehow, the boatmen seemed to know exactly where we were at all times. I was told that we were on the Matla River and apart from that, over the next two days, I visited Pancha Mukhani, Pakhirala, Pirkhali, Harin Bhanga, Netidhopani, and countless channels that meander through the forest.

I had not given the Sunderbans even half a chance to reveal all that it hides within its folds, which gave me an excuse to visit this “beautiful forest” again, hoping that the wild hosts would be more welcoming the next time around. The landscape might get monotonous after a while but the hospitality I received by the people was endearing, and as for the man-eating tigers—life is a waste without some amount of danger, right? Of course, my mother would never agree!

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in March, 2010. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

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—About our writer:

Rachna has written about nature, travel, lifestyle, and business in a career spanning over 6 years. She has a BA in Psychology with a Diploma in counselling skills, and was working with Satyam Computer's corporate communications team at the height of its crisis. She enjoys travelling, reading, and eating out! She has lived and learned in various cities from Delhi to Bangkok, and is currently residing in Mumbai.

The Sultry Sunderbans

chillibreeze writer — Rachna Pandey

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