Memories of Sundarban

Sundarban

After a long time I got a chance to escape my boring daily life by losing myself into the wildness of nature when I was offered a chance to join a group of fifteen people to Sundarban by Subroto Mukherjee, a very enthusiastic photographer and nature lover. I couldn’t miss this offer as this group was a very special one. Each of its members was master in different subjects such as birds, snakes, fishes, photography etc. The main object of the trip was to observe snakes and other reptiles in their natural habitat. I was not much bothered about snakes as I don’t wish to play with snakes to show off my braveness by kissing it or rounding it on my neck but I felt the need to understand this creature as I wish to trek in mountains where I am likely to encounter it. However, after this trip I felt the urge to know more about snakes as they are highly misunderstood and neglected creature. Even basic understanding of snakes can replace one’s fear for snakes with a feeling of tenderness towards snakes.

Snakes are very fragile and delicate creature. It’s very easy to kill them which people do often to prove their superiority and it was really nice to know that there are some people (mainly herpetologists) who rescue them with care from households and release them into the wild before they are killed. When I got rid of the fear factor I discovered that snake is as interesting and cute as cat, dog or mongoose.

Green Frog
Photo courtesy: Subroto Mukherjee

We started our journey on 11^th of June, early in the morning. My mother was scared as I was going to Sundarban with unknown people where we would go for night walks in search of snakes and other nocturnal creatures. She refused to let me go for this trip. My friends asked me to call them up once I reach into the stomach of a tiger! Still, I was determined to go for it.


I made a wish when I started my journey. I wished for rain and it was fulfilled in such a way that I could never have imagined! It rained heavily on our 2^nd day in Sundarban while we were in the ferry near the congregation of five rivers. The storm and the rain we faced, I would never be able to forget. We all got drenched badly for three consecutive days but thankfully I didn’t get fever or cold for that.

On the 3^rd day when we started our journey towards Sudhanyakhali the sky turned into a canvas of a great artist. Clouds were changing their shapes and the sky was so bright and so blue that I could hardly take my eyes off! I forgot to search for the Royal Bengal tigers or crocodiles and started searching for frogs, bears, birds and dragons in the sky! Then we spotted Storks (madantak) gliding faraway in the sky like three black dots in a white paper.

Every morning we used to go out for bird watching. We stayed in Bali Island. It was full of bright green and dull brown Bee-eaters, Orange Breasted Pigeons, Kingfishers, Drongoes, Starlings, Tailor birds, Sun birds, Robin, Wood Peckers, Parrots, Pond herons, Minivets (small and scarlet).On the last day we have even spotted the Paradise Flycatcher with its beautiful long white tail.

Sundarban at night from the ferry ghat
Photo courtesy: Subroto Mukherjee

At night we used to enjoy the moonlight at the ferry ghat in Bali Dweep. Every night we saw a fisher man sitting at the edge of the ferry like a ghost and made us silent by his king size patience to catch a single fish throughout the night. Sadly he failed to catch a single fish on the last night of our stay. Around 2 am he moved to another place in search of fishes.

Next morning the fisherman caught an eel and a very big dogfish! Photographers of our team were very happy for getting some surprise shots on our last day at Bali island.

Captive Snakes

In our way to Sundarban we took a ferry from Gandkhali to Bali Dweep. While we were waiting for our ferry, a local person got interested in our group as he recognized the snake hooks. He introduced himself as a snake rescuer and a honey collector. He took us to his place as we were interested to see two spectacled cobras in his custody. The 40 minutes’ walk under the burning sun to his village was highly energy draining but gave us hint that we can spot loads of wild snakes in Sundarban. 

A captive Monocled Cobra (Keute)
and the local guy.
Photo courtesy: Anwesha Saha

Gowri Shankar, the King Cobra specialist wanted to take those captivated cobras into the jungle to release them as they were in a very pathetic condition inside small pots, without any food and water for days. Ant bites were visible all over their body. Ultimately he couldn’t rescue them. I was sad to hear that probably they will be sold to people in cities and that village man is probably not rescuing snakes as it was evident from his conduct! I was wondering why people would buy snakes and what kind of people they can be.

We couldn’t find many snakes in Bali Dweep. We saw two or three rat snakes and a checkered keelback. We heard stories of venomous snakes and deaths by snake bites but all of those were so vague that I can only compare them with ghost stories! It’s always someone tells you a story of ghosts which he has heard from someone else! Fear of snakes was actually the ghost which was ruling over these village people. They were living in middle age as hospital and antivenin injections are fairy tales to them!

We couldn’t find many snakes in Sundarban because their habitat got severely disturbed by the cyclone called Aila in 2009. It has washed away snakes from Sundarban making the life of village people easier but the ecological loss caused by the cyclone will be unknown forever, as we never knew what we had.

The battlefield of life

Sundarban
Photo courtesy: Subroto Mukherjee

The villagers were struggling for their life. Women are scared to go out at night because of frequent visit of outsiders. Mainly armed forces stay there other than tourists and the local people are not very happy about it. Paddy fields have become barren after Aila. In a few places people are trying to cultivate rice and vegetables after putting a layer of fresh soil untouched by salt water.

In our night walks in search of nocturnal creatures, we have heard children reading school books clear and loud beside the song of crickets and frogs. Main source of electricity in this island is solar power. As it is very costly to establish a solar power plant, the muddy roads of the village were lit by the gleaming moon and the mud houses were silent into the darkness except children studying in front of kerosene lanterns in two or three houses.

The study group in Bali island
Photo courtesy: Subroto Mukherjee

The battle for life of the people of Sundarban is not only against the hostile nature but also against bad administration. There is only one school in Bali island but no one goes there to study and no one expects to get education from there. It’s only a formality that the government has done- there is no proper infrastructure or teachers needed for teaching but it is a place from were you can get food and cloth once in a month! Some people send their children to Gosaba high school which takes 30 minutes by bicycle.

Photo courtesy: Subroto Mukherjee

Unfortunately some people see a clash between conservation of ecosystem and fair living of these remotely located village people. I believe hospitals are necessary, schools are necessary and snakes and tigers are also necessary! Everyday people die because of road accidents but we don’t stop driving cars or stop getting into buses! The same way we shouldn't be afraid of wildlife or destructive about wild animals just because they are dangerous. I also believe that we have the capacity to live with wild lives without destroying them. If antivenins were available easily in villages, people wouldn't have feared or hated snakes this much! If adequate food was available in the jungle, tigers wouldn't have come to villages to die of beating! I wish to learn the art of living with wild animals without harming them.