March is not particularly recommended as a good time
to visit Sunderbans. We prepared for sultry weather. It rained incessantly
instead. The accompanying wind chill forced us to extract blankets on the boat
that was our home for three days. And when the rain stopped, as periodically it
did, the habitants emerged from the forests to make their hurried forage. The
result was some exquisite sightings.
*******
The sareng was of
middle age. Living in this inhospitable terrain has wizened him beyond his
years. We were discussing the issue of earnings and savings. Manoeuvring the
helm, the sareng informed that his personal loss from the Rose Valley scam was
forty thousand rupees. How could he fall for the bait? Was it the obvious
expectation of inflated returns? He responded in the affirmative, and added
that there was one more compelling factor; that of emotional blackmail. The
sareng’s doom was initiated by his aunt, a local primary school teacher
doubling as a chit fund agent. Her line of reasoning was compulsive. `This is
the opportunity of a lifetime. Would I, as a respectable teacher and your
family member, nudge you to any proposition that’s fraught with risk?’ Similar
stories abound in all families in the area.
******
On the flip side, the inadequacy of formal banking
channels is disturbing. The state owned and private banks are conspicuous by
their near-absence. Local co-operative banks struggle to bridge the resultant
gap, bound by their own shortcomings. This is a cash-based society. The vision
of a cashless India that most of the country hotly pursues doesn’t hold water.
Internet is rarely available. The local banks do not have the wherewithal to
handle more than a few lakhs of cash daily. The villagers thus prefer holding
cash at home to cover exigencies. A nationalised bank operates a boat that
serves as a mobile bank in the delta. But that’s insufficient for the four
million odd that inhabit the islands.
******
Kalitala Khal is a narrow creek that separates the
village of Shamsher Nagar from dense tiger land. In low tide, one can almost
waddle across the creek. This story goes back in time before secure wire
nets were erected on the forest side to prevent tigers from straying into
the village. Based on villagers’ complaints, Forest Department officials set up
a trap to capture a straying tiger. The makeshift trap contained a live goat
which, when tugged, would cause the trapdoor to drop and rein in the tiger. As
night progressed, the officials waited in darkness to hear the sound of the
trapdoor falling. The goat helpfully maintained its bleating. And then they
heard the anticipated clang! They rushed to the cage, keeping a wary eye on
surroundings to ensure there wasn’t more than one tiger in the vicinity. They
peeped inside to find a man cowering in a corner of the cage, exploring options
to escape. He had attempted stealing the goat. Consider the risks that he
evaluated before embarking on his mission..... the risk of being mauled by a
tiger. He circumvented that risk. Then there was the bigger risk of a sound
thrashing from the villagers if he was found in the cage; which he couldn’t
overcome.
********
Drinking water is an
issue. You will need to stack up as much of those 25 litre cans from mainland
as you can when you are living or travelling in these parts. It is ironic when
you find yourself surrounded by water in the delta. Gives you a first-hand feel
of what the Ancient Mariner experienced. Consumption of river water guarantees
acute diarrhoea or jaundice, or both.
On a related note, a
loaf of bread requires you to access mainland. But a wide range of fish and
prawn invariably appear on your plate.
******
The old man doesn’t
read or write, but is finely attuned with nature. He was sitting and staring at
the flowing water on the riverbank. `Do you see how clear the water looks? What
does that signify?’ he inquired of one of my fellow travellers. And proceeded
to answer by himself. `This will be a great season for hilsa. The clear water
is created by precipitation resultant from the combined flapping of gills of a
shoal as it moves upstream to lay eggs’.
*******
Eight years ago Cyclone
Aila hit Sunderbans and left in its wake a trail of horrific destruction. One
of the worst impacts was on the arable land. The cyclone waves that swept over
left the land too rich in saline content and, thus, uncultivable. Pre-Aila, Sunderbans
was a big exporter of watermelon. You could have seen barges loaded with
watermelon plying the rivers for shipment to the cities. This was a key cash
commodity. We meet a farmer at Shamsher Nagar who takes us on a tour of his
fields. A rat snake hears our footfall, rears its head and seeks hasty cover in
a crack. In one corner of the field, another attempt is being made to cure the
land and grow the melons again. Similar efforts in the last few years had to
be aborted. The watermelons grew and then inexplicably burst before ripening.
Hope springs eternal.
******
The State Government is
considering developing Dhamakhali as an entry point to Sunderbans for tourists.
The reasons are twofold. First, it will ease the congestion of traffic at other
popular points of embarkation like Godkhali and Sandeshkhali. Secondly, the
discerning tourist is keen on `the river experience’ in the world’s largest
estuarine delta. He expects to spend minimum time on road and maximum on water.
In terms of distance from Kolkata, Dhamakhali fulfils this expectation.
Situated 67 km from Kolkata, the distance on road is shorter than that from the city to Godkhali
or Sandeshkhali. But there’s this minor issue. The government insists on the added
bonanza of a lunar module ride with the river experience. The 67 kms journey takes
two hours and more. The last stretch of 12 kms from Agarhati to Dhamakhali
doesn’t have a road. It has the outline of what once would have been a road
through brick kilns in marshland. This outline shall also disappear once
monsoon arrives. Will it be another instance of a road not taken?
******
