Ban of the Sundari Trees - I

Sundarbans: A place so remote that it exists at the fringes of one's imagination. Someplace distant and shrowed in the twilight zone of knowlege and ignorance. Welcome to a land where the distinction between land and water seems to give way. Where imagination and reality are so entwined it hard to say whether one is awake or dreaming. Welcome to the land of the Royal Bengal Tigers.

Sundarbans is one of the biggest deltas in the world where three great rivers, the Ganges, Brahmaputra and the Meghna meet the Bay of Bengal. This region silted by these rivesr is the biggest mangrove forest anywhere in the world. The name comes from the Sundari trees that grow in this strange place where the distinction between the river and the sea is as inconsistant as a line drawn in sand. This marshy region stretches across eastern parts of India and southern deltaic parts of Bangladesh down to the Bay of Bengal.

It is a complicated network of rivers, channels, creeks and estuaries that are extremely difficult to navigate. Most of it is out of human reach, its inaccessibility adding to the charm and mysticism of the place . The magnificent flora and fauna of Sundarbans not only have made this place a rich biodiversity zone but serve to save the mangrove ecosystem and the hinterlands from uncertain natural calamities. The trees are the first deterrant that quell the rising waves and changes in the wind system.

The Sundarbans is best described as a combination of wetlands and jungle, its many deltaic islands are surrounded by highly saline water and characterized by their changing forms. This is a reqion that gets flooded twice in a day, with the water rising upto a level of 10-15 feet submerging islands during the high tide. The only thing that stands testimony to the fact that there exists land beneath the vast expanse of water are the tips of some of the tallest mangrove trees. Sometimes when the water receeds it swallows a part of the land and sometimes it throws up another piece that had no existance before the tide came in. Borrowing from Amitava Gosh, its a place where there is no history as it gets flooded and erased every passing day. Most of it. A flourishing island lies beneath the vast expanse of water, a commercial centre stands in the middle of a meandering river. What remains are stories of the lands, narrated by those that have lived to tell them. The stories of Bobbibi and Dakkhin Rai. Bonbibi is the benevolant goddess who protects the villagers from the atrocities of Dakkhin Rai woh manifests himself in the typhoons, the flashfloods and of course the tigers. These tigers are well-known for the substantial number of people they kill; estimates range from twenty and eighty people per year. They are the only man-eating tigers left in the world.

In terms of biodiversity, the Sundarbans contrasts the other large mangrove forests for its extraordinarily diverse wildlife and designated as a UNESCO’s World Network of International Biosphere Reserves since 2001. Apart from being the home of the Royal Bengal Tigers it is also the natural habitat of spotted deer, crocodiles, jungle fowl, wild boar, lizards, gangatic dolphins, rhesus monkey and an innumerable variety of beautiful birds. Migratory flock of siberian ducks flying over thousands of sail boats loaded with timber, gopatta, fuel wood, honey, shell and fish further add to the serene natural beauty of the Sundarbans. The alternating cycles of fresh and saline waters support some species that do not exist in any other parts of the world.

The only way of transportation in these lands is through water. One can reach Port Canning by taking the Canning Local from Sealdah station in Kolkata. From Canning hire a boat to Gosaba. Take a rickshaw in the island of Gosaba and go to Pakhirala. Cross the river by ferry and reach Sajnekhali Forest office and Tourist lodge. This is where your journey begins.

Event: I am planning to visit the Sundarbans in the beginning of next year. If someone has been there I would be really grateful for any tips. If someone wants to hop along I would be more than welcome.