The boatman of Sundarban

Irrawady Dolphins have been calling me since Ghosh wrote ‘Hungry Tide’. I finally managed to visit Sundarbans, many months after the almost-sequel ‘Gun Island’. I did not see any dolphins but saw many other fascinating beings, including our boat man. Every day, we set out on a steamer ride and watched the water go down, exposing the roots of the mangroves in a very spectacular, and sometimes eerie, manner. By the time we came back the roots would go under water – the short trees standing out of the river, as though they’d gone in for a quick dip.

Boat man lived in a neighbouring village, had studied till class 10 before joining this resort and was an Amitav Ghosh fan. He didn’t speak English or Hindi so I tried translating his stories to the rest of our gang, real time. Bon-bibi and Shah Junglee, Collared Kingfisher and Estuarine Crocodile, Bee keepers, how the tiger survives the salty water. He knew it all and after some time I stopped translating. I realised the gang was just staring at him transfixed and probably understanding more of his animated Bengali than my inadequate translation. Other than him, some of the amazing creatures we saw, are below.

Collared Kingfisher

Estuarine Crocodile

Green Pit Viper

Needless to say we didn’t see any tigers. We never do at any tiger reserve. It’s a rule. My favourite was the shimmeringly elegant Green pit viper - possibly the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen. But the three-limbed crocodile won by popular choice, because of its 'boss' attitude. The cool thing about where we stayed was that it had left the natural ponds intact and built around it. So there were monitor lizards right outside our cottage - much to my and her delight, as you can see from her smile.

Happy Monitor Lizard

We met some villagers who were going about their life, doing subsistence farming and getting excited about the ‘jatra’ in the village temple. Some of them performed the local ‘jhumur’ dance for us in the evenings. Many of them now do forest honey collection responsibly. The villagers are deeply aware of their dependence on the delicate ecosystem that they are part of.

Boatman and I had long discussions on the value of mangroves, especially in the cyclone-prone delta. I shudder now when I think of how we talked about global warming and the dangers it posed on places like the Sundarbans, not just by increasing the water level, but also by making cyclones more frequent and devastating. The darnest thing about cyclones is that it affects those who did little to cause it. While the rest of us continue to consume mindlessly, natural disasters tear through their homes and lives. When Amphan came, my mind raced to the boatman. I do not have the his number and I’ve sadly, forgotten his name. I just hope, like the mangroves, he has the resilience to hold on. And build back stronger than before.