THE SUNDARBANS
Several years ago I watched a 60 Minutes segment on the man-eating tigers of the Sundarbans. The 60 Minutes crew went on a boat safari to track down and catch glimpses of one of the world’s most majestic animals. The segment left a lasting impression on me and I made a note to visit the Sundarbans if I was ever in the area. In addition for the chance to see tigers, the Sundarbans is the world's largest mangrove forest and stretches across northeastern India into Bangladesh - although "largest mangrove forest" doesn't sound as great a tourist draw as "man-eating tigers".
The Sundarbans is a crazy and chaotic three to five hour drive from Calcutta (that describes all Indian drives). Along the route we passed burning leather factories which may be one of the worst smells ever, and lots and lots of kilns, and their child workers. Rather than figure out the complicated public transport route to the Sundarbans I joined a three-person tour. It was me, David, the tour guide, and two of his cousins, Michael and Andrew. It felt like I was on a family vacation. By the end of the trip I knew all their cousins, aunts, and uncles.
The road ended and we continued on the remainder of our journey via a boat. We arrived at the hotel in late afternoon and took a walk around one of the small Sundarban villages. That night the hotel hosted a raucous Bonibibi performance that included loud music, microphones, and elaborate costumes. David explained the next morning that Bonibibi protects the Sundarban villages from tigers. The story goes that Dhuki was traded for seven boats of honey and sent into the Sundarbans. Poor little Dhuki. Bonibibi came to his rescue.
The Sundarbans is a crazy and chaotic three to five hour drive from Calcutta (that describes all Indian drives). Along the route we passed burning leather factories which may be one of the worst smells ever, and lots and lots of kilns, and their child workers. Rather than figure out the complicated public transport route to the Sundarbans I joined a three-person tour. It was me, David, the tour guide, and two of his cousins, Michael and Andrew. It felt like I was on a family vacation. By the end of the trip I knew all their cousins, aunts, and uncles.
The road ended and we continued on the remainder of our journey via a boat. We arrived at the hotel in late afternoon and took a walk around one of the small Sundarban villages. That night the hotel hosted a raucous Bonibibi performance that included loud music, microphones, and elaborate costumes. David explained the next morning that Bonibibi protects the Sundarban villages from tigers. The story goes that Dhuki was traded for seven boats of honey and sent into the Sundarbans. Poor little Dhuki. Bonibibi came to his rescue.
A couple of photos of the hotel and our meals.
We spent the rest of the morning walking around another neighboring village. The villagers create walls of mud to protect their homes from rising tides and monsoons. The walls are flattened on top to make a pathway around the outer village limits. The morning was a good time for a walk because the villagers were out in full force engaged in all sorts of activity from washing clothes, to fishing, and home cleaning and maintenance. Cow patties were drying in the sun to burn for heat later.
Truly a magnificent view of local life. Andrew kept repeating "It's just like the Cotswolds!" I'll need to include the Cotswolds on a future Great Britian itinerary.
In the afternoon we took a boat through various Sundarbans inlets in search of an elusive tiger. There’s only about 280 tigers left in the national reserve so the odds of spotting one are quite small. The odds are further diminished by fences on the shores of the islands closest to the villages - to prevent the odd tiger from swimming to the other side in search of a meal.
It was a relaxing and lazy ride around the Sundarbans - in addition to the possibility of tigers, the Sundarbans is the largest mangrove system in the world. For each tiger I didn't see I saw thousands of mangroves. We disembarked the boat at one point to go to a Tiger Watchtower. It was a bit like entering Jurassic Park - we left the boat and immediately walked into a caged facility and down a long, protected pathway. From the top of the Tiger Watchtower you could look down and see a clearing and an artificial pond. A few deer were drinking at the pond - likely decoys to draw in a tiger. I thought “Tiger’s don’t want to be fed, they want to hunt!”
It was a relaxing and lazy ride around the Sundarbans - in addition to the possibility of tigers, the Sundarbans is the largest mangrove system in the world. For each tiger I didn't see I saw thousands of mangroves. We disembarked the boat at one point to go to a Tiger Watchtower. It was a bit like entering Jurassic Park - we left the boat and immediately walked into a caged facility and down a long, protected pathway. From the top of the Tiger Watchtower you could look down and see a clearing and an artificial pond. A few deer were drinking at the pond - likely decoys to draw in a tiger. I thought “Tiger’s don’t want to be fed, they want to hunt!”
We returned to the hotel and it was a quiet, non-Bonibibi performance evening. The next day we returned to Calcutta. It was a bit disappointing not seeing any Tigers but there’s virtually no chance of seeing one to begin with. The Watchtower kept a tally of tiger sightings. In the past month, one tiger appeared for about five minutes.
Seeing the local village life more than made up for not seeing a tiger. The villages had a natural beauty to them and offered a rare glimpse into rural Indian life. The ride back was just as chaotic and at one point David had to grab the wheel because the driver decided to open his door and took both hands off the wheel.
Seeing the local village life more than made up for not seeing a tiger. The villages had a natural beauty to them and offered a rare glimpse into rural Indian life. The ride back was just as chaotic and at one point David had to grab the wheel because the driver decided to open his door and took both hands off the wheel.
For additional Sundarbans photos see FLICKR ALBUM.