R Ganesh*
The Sundarbans
is a National Park, Tiger Reserve, and a Biosphere
Reserve located in the
Sundarbans delta spread across West Bengal in India and
Bangladesh. It covers approximately 10,000 km2 area, of which 60% is in
Bangladesh and the remainder in India. It is one of the largest remaining areas of
mangroves in the world. The area is also known for its wide range of fauna,
including 260 bird species and other threatened species such as estuarine
crocodile and the Indian python. However, it is the Royal Bengal Tiger, which
is the main draw of the Sundarbans. The Royal Bengal Tigers of Sunderbans have developed a unique
characteristic of swimming in the saline waters. Tiger spotting was one of the main
reasons I was attracted to the Sundarbans and once I finished my office related
work in Kolkata, I immediately headed over to Sundarbans for a short break.
I had spoken to the two brothers - Rajesh and Mowgli Kumar -
of Backpackers Sundarban Tours for the trip, and they had taken care of all the
arrangements for transport from Kolkata /accommodation and safari cruise at the
Sundarbans. I was picked up by them in Kolkata and after 3-4 hours of drive, we
reached Namkhana from where we took a crowded boat to take us to Sundarbans.
On the other side of river, we took a cycle rickshaw - the only means of public
transport- to reach a small eco-village, where we were going to stay for the
duration of the trip.
After having a lovely lunch, we roamed around the village in
the summer heat. Call me crazy, but I
loved walking in the village and its solitude even with the harsh sun on my
head. In the evening, I went on the little boat ride around the area to
have a closer look at the mangrove forest. It sure was exciting to enter
the various creeks and experience the silence and stillness of the forest. I tried my hand at rowing the boat but my
technique was all wrong and after many futile attempts, I retired to being one
of the passengers of the boat. Besides
me, there were four more travellers - two girls from Hyderabad and a couple from United Kingdom.
The next day, we got up before sunrise and got ready in a
hurry. All of us were
excited at the prospect of what was in store for us during the cruise around
the Sundarbans. I,for one, was waiting
to explore this area for a long time and the D day had finally arrived.
Even as we were returning from the Forest Department after obtaining
necessary permissions, there was commotion on the river bank. Someone had
spotted pug marks of the famous Bengal tiger on the banks and all of us rushed
to the area and had a closer look at the marks. The guide explained to us that
the marks were fresh and we all were very excited and nervous - maybe it was
going to be our lucky day !
We were joined on the boat by an experienced guide and and he
explained to us about the Sundarbans in detail. The core area is free from all human
disturbances like collection of wood, honey, fishing and other forest produces.
However, in the buffer area fishing, honey collection and wood cutting are
permitted in limited form. Of
course, the villagers venture into the core area and that is when the tiger-man
conflict raises its ugly head. It is a vicious circle as the opinion on
who is to blame depends on who you talk to - the villagers or the forest
department.
The only means of travelling the park is to by boat, down the
various lanes formed by the many flowing rivers. The habitat is traversed by
many narrow tidal channels forming small to large islands. Tigers readily cross
these islands and the guide recounted the various stories of his tiger
sightings. As we moved along the
narrow channels, all of us were deathly quiet and a bit nervous as well,
wondering whether we were walking directly into a trap set by the predator of
the forest - the elusive Royal Bengal Tiger.
The Sundarbans National Park also houses an excellent number
of reptiles as well. Some of the common ones are olive ridley turtles, sea
snakes, dog faced water snakes, green turtles, etc. We sighted deer,
monitor lizard and many species of birds during our cruise but the tiger remained
elusive. Even though it was hot, all of us were as excited as little
school children on their first picnic. The boat kept chugging along the river
and our eyes scanned the forest to find any kind of a movement. It was fun and
a first hand experience at how the eco system works in this part of the world.
