A friend of my mum asked if there was anything special about Sunderbans and if it was worth the visit. My mother simply replied, “Oh, nothing, there’s only water.” Her friend went to Kerela in her place. People come to Sunderbans from all over the world to see the world’s largest delta and try their luck at catching a glimpse of man-eating tigers. But my mother’s response wasn’t so bad. I guess after visiting that place more than 5 times, the place lost its charm for us. But it was only after I realized we wouldn’t be visiting this place again anytime soon that I realized how much more there was to see here.
I went to Sunderbans for the first time when I was only 14 years old. I had no idea where we were going. But I figured we’d go to some old rest house hidden in a little wood. I was quite disappointed when I couldn’t find a rest house once we got to the place. To make matters worse, my father pointed to a boat and asked us to board it. It was a hot and humid day and we were definitely not in the mood for a boat ride on the dirty looking river. I could see my mother fuming, so it was up to me and my sister to quell the situation.
Fortunately, it didn’t come to that at all. The guard led us to a nice houseboat called a ‘lancha’. The deck had seating on three sides with enough room for us to walk around, have tea and watch exotic birds flying by or sitting in a tree. There was a navigator in a small room the size of a phone booth. There were stairs on the side that led to a tiny dining room and sitting room. I had a TV that didn’t work and a couple of books on GIS and forestry statistics. To one side of the dining room, there was a door that led to the bedroom with two beds that also served as storage boxes and had its own bathroom with modern amenities. The other side led to the kitchen. I never saw it properly as every time I tried to get in, it had always been too hot and steamy for some reason.
After my sister and I excitedly explored the pitch, we were given coconut water. I felt like a princess who gets everything without having to work for it. After laughing about our ‘sailing’ experience, we were served lunch. It’s been over a decade, so I don’t remember exactly what was served for lunch. But I’m pretty sure there was fish, chicken, rice, dal, some vegetables, mango chutney followed by misti doi and rossogulla. And I’m pretty sure I must have overeaten.
After a short afternoon nap, we woke up to steaming hot cups of tea, always served with biscuits or some snacks. Food always played an important role in all our visits to rest homes. Since these rest houses were as old as the British period, tea was never served without snacks. There was always more food than we could eat. The British are gone but the tradition has passed.
I could use many adjectives to glorify the beauty of the Sunderbans but I don’t think it’s necessary. The swampy island covered in huge mangroves with exotic birds perched on them was a treat for the eyes. I tried unsuccessfully to look for crocodiles casually swimming in the muddy water. I could have sworn I saw something moving. My dad told me that this place had more creatures than he could identify. But I was only interested in seeing a dangerous looking man-eating tiger. Of course, I had no idea what I would do when faced with one. However, the idea itself seemed quite fascinating. But thanks to my search for a tiger, I was able to see a lot of the natural bounties that the Sunderbans had to offer. Living in the city made me forget what sunset was like, but I was lucky enough to witness it here.
After sunset it got a bit creepy as there were no street lights or sounds of people or TV to fill the silence. I watch a lot of horror movies and right now it felt like I was in one of those scary scenes. It took me a little time but I got used to it. In fact, since my days in Darjeeling, I had forgotten to appreciate the sound of silence. The sound of the water lapping against the shores, the little insects trying to communicate in the dark, the reflections of the bright stars on the water, the men trying to anchor the boat, everything that seemed unnatural a moment ago seemed delicious now. We end the day with a delicious dinner.
I had ambitious plans to get up early to see the sunrise. But my laziness got the better of me and I slept until my mom woke me up for breakfast and tea. Our breakfast was very well laid out on the terrace. I felt like I was back in the Victorian era, where a commando gave you everything you wanted. I wished I could see a wild animal before I went home just so I could brag about it. To my surprise, I saw a large fish-like creature jump out of the water. My father, studying the ripples created in the water, asked us to look ahead in a particular direction. When we did, we saw a swift Ganges dolphin take a big leap. We followed him with our eyes until he disappeared. So now he had at least one story to tell.
After breakfast, when I went to take a shower, I realized that the bathroom window was stuck and I couldn’t close it. I felt a bit uncomfortable at first. But I realized that since there was no civilization in the vicinity, I had nothing to worry about. To be honest, it looked like a spa in the womb of nature, something you only see on pintrest.
Once I got out of the shower, our guard informed us that the speedboat was ready to take us into the narrow hinterlands of the delta where the speedboat would not go. On subsequent visits, I was able to try my luck on the speedboat. But the first time, I was sitting comfortably behind the driver’s seat with my life jacket on. The shallowest part of the island was no more or less beautiful than the rest. But somehow, it felt like we were in dangerous territory as it was so close to land. It seemed that at any moment, a tiger could jump into the speedboat. And this made it very exciting and adventurous. But our driver assured us that it was quite a distance and we had nothing to worry about. I was relieved to hear this. The sound of the speedboat was loud enough to wake up a sleeping giant so we gave up hope of seeing a tiger as they have super sensory ears. But to my delight we saw a small crocodile sunbathing near the shore. He seemed comfortable enough for a minute or two. But he probably saw us because he jumped into the water and disappeared.
We then head back to our launch to finish our visit. I strained my eyes for a glimpse of the tiger until I got back to the boat. We started packing until lunch was served in the dining room. There wasn’t much to pack, but it took us a long time as we weren’t ready to go yet. But he had school the next day, so there was no other option. The cook made a special preparation of crabs among other things. They made such delicious dishes every time we went to the Sunderbans without any formal training. He wondered what they might have been capable of if they had trained with Jamie Oliver or Gordon Ramsay.
Over the years we went to the Sunderbans several times. It would be the same routine almost always with slight changes. Sometimes, instead of the speedboat, we would stay in one of the rest houses built on the island and see deer in the wild. Also, we never saw a tiger there, man-eater or otherwise. The chef’s special dishes eaten quietly on the deck of the boat while waiting for a dolphin to jump out of the water became a routine. Naturally, she lost some of his charm. So my mum dissuading her friend from wanting to visit Sunderbans was no big deal. However, following my father’s retirement, visits to the Sunderbans have become a luxury we cannot afford. Even if we went there, we won’t be able to enjoy our visit like we used to and that makes me wish for days when I can enjoy the starry sky and afternoon chai. So if a friend ever asked me if this place was worth it, I would certainly bet my life on it.
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