SUNDARBAN – The Royal Bengal Diva

Sunrise @ Sundarban 

Sundarban or Beautiful Forest  is an UNESCO Heritage Site.

The Sundarbans National Park is a National Park, Tiger Reserve, and a Biosphere Reserve located in the Sundarbans delta in the Indian state of West Bengal. Sundarbans South, East and West are three protected forests in Bangladesh. This region is densely covered by mangrove forests, and is one of the largest reserves for the Royal Bengal tiger.

This is  the world’s unique beauty spot of  paramount importance to mankind riddled out with danger, decay  and death to its natural eco system, where, international tourists  rub shoulders with the local tourists for unforgettable memories for few days.

Ready …. Steady … Tour  :

Right time : After October to February every year.

There may be hundreds of options with various cost tags , various routes and various comfort levels. I owned the option sold by Deptt. of Tourism , Govt. of WB using their 3 days 2 nights Package Tour on “M.V. Chitrarekha” Launch.

You may visit www.westbengaltourism.gov.in for details.

Sundarban, in my views, does not end in a list of tourist points to visit with camera to hang on the shoulder. Our eyes work there more as lenses without sound of clicks. Since the dawn , our only lounge is  the upper deck before the sun even peeps up from the dark green or sometimes from the mirror water till we go back to bed only under pressure of two alarming enemies as under :

(a)   Cold and dark night  (b)   Wild mosquitoes

Well Guided ?  :

It is very important to get a good guide. We are blessed. The guide is too good  and graduate as well……

In the late afternoon, while sun sets , we use to grab his rich anecdotes with tea and snacks. One common question , he often  receives one question hundred times   : Have you seen tiger ? 

His answer is with a smile : Yes. But after hearing the heart touching stories of the dangerous tigers, your eyes must have to be full of tears. You start praying to God " Oh God ! Don't make me tiger in my next birth !!!".  

But you may not have ready luck that you come across one such within 3 days or so because our launch moves across the river route but a tiger moves in the less traveled zones.

There is a tourist spot in deep island turned forest named "Buridabri" (Meaning an old commanding woman) . 

Why Buridabri ? 

In this delta, most of the poor families have women only as male members going to forest  are eaten by tigers often. Even the women live with so close to danger like tigers, crocodiles and snakes on daily basis  that they are not afraid any more. 

As per an old anecdote,  an old woman once saved herself and a small team of villagers from an attacking tiger not by the use of  arms or fire arms but a spine chilling counter roar after which the tiger had jumped back into the forest again !!!

Scenic Beauty : 

The land is full of rivers................ flowing @ 24 X 7. If you  look more closely ..... the reality will emerge like  roads and traffic of a city. 

  

In a city, there are main arterial roads like King's way with two rows of buildings at both the sides  ... then small roads .... then alleys from the main roads going inside. 

In Sundarban, mostly same model is visible , on water surface only with endless of natural resources built in.

You may get a chance to see one of its natural habitat at the riverside to meet you as a visitor. 

However, none is for me during my trip.  

Water Reservoir For Reserved Tigers ? 

We should thank Forest Deptt. to create "Sweet Water Reservoirs from Rain Water Harvesting " for tigers and other animals to drink from the same for quenching their thirst. 

In case you are a hard nut to meet a tiger face to face for saying "hallo", your right watch tower should be one of some four squared water reserves as shown in the pic. 

The places are in deep jungle  .... silent ....... and uncanny.  The sky is watching only as a CC TV camera keeping the trees as witness.

In case after the rendezvous with the tiger, you are back, plz let me know as we shall celebrate for the reason that a "Best seller" may emerge promptly to deluge the market.

Do The Trees Breathe ? 

Yes. They do. But how ? Where are their noses and nostrils ? 
Plz. see the picture at your left and you learn this from the teacher named Ms. Nature.  
Thousands of trees have to stand on mud but not on land because their feet remain washed often by sea water. So, they cause to breathe through their roots which are visible above the water surface. This syndrome is complete alien to us , as we see trees standing on the ground firmly and breathe. 
This, as we are said , is the evolution process for survival techniques giving new dimension to the flora and fauna. 
The roots with pores around  coming from under the water are treated as noses with nostrils. Every large  "Sundari tree " is found to have 40 to 50 such roots and trunks, where small trees are with less number around.  

This chapter is quite new to all tourists like us there ............ completely unknown and unseen. Learning can be so pleasure. Is n't it ??? 

Even then , there are “Must See Tourist Points” as under  :

• ·    Hiron Point a beautiful spot, great for spotting tigers and other wildlife
• ·    Tin Kona Island another popular spot for wildlife spotting.
• ·     Katka a base for safaris, and good spot to see tigers and for bird-watching.
• ·     Dublar Char Island it's possible to fish here. For people visiting the place from               India (West Bengal), the following should form a part of the itinerary:
• ·     Sudhanyakhali Watch Tower - Most of the tigers are sighted from this tower. Some       other wildlife like axis deers and crocodiles may also be seen from this watch               tower

                                                                                                     

     Sundarban does not call for wild animals only. It is the natural    habitat of variety of trees, fruits, cactus, flora & fauna  and      above all mangroves.

   Once you get to see the rich resource this land has with it in  wilderness, the opulence is assessed. This large delta as UNESCO  Heritage Site has two countries as its shareholders. India is with  33% and Bangladesh with 67% . 

      

      The environmentalists are very much apprehensive on its future. 

Sajnekhali Watch Tower - Watch tower that also houses a museum, a Bonobibi Temple and a crocodile park within its premises.

·         Sajnekhali Pakiralaya

·         Dobanki Watch Tower

·         Bhagbatpur crocodile project

·         Buridabri

·         Netidhopani - It has a temple that’s 400 years old

·         Kanak - Ideal for viewing the Olive Ridley Turtles

·         Holiday Island - It is famous for the Barking Deers

                            

  Bonbibi Temple                                                                      

                                                               

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