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The holy Ganga journeys
down the Himalayas and flows along India’s vast monotonous
plains into the state of West Bengal. Towards the southern
tip of the state, the land and the Bay of Bengal break out
into a lively welcoming fandango to form a fresco of
tangled mangrove swamps – the Sunderbans. The Sunderbans
National Park are spread out over an area of 16,500sq km
in the prostrate delta towards the mouth of the Ganga, and
form the world’s largest estuarine forests that constitute
80% of India’s total mangrove swamps. A World Heritage
Site, the Sunderbans are also amongst the richest
biosphere reserves in the subcontinent.
The silt deposit islands on the Sunderbans Delta are
connected to the mainland through a labyrinthine waterway
system, with some islands being practically impenetrable.
This has turned out to be a boon in disguise because the
ecology of the area and these fecund marshlands, wired in
thick foliage, are able to support an astonishing variety
of plant and animal life. Twenty-six of the fifty broad
mangrove types found in the world, thrive in the
Sunderbans.
A Home To Largest Tiger Population
In order to preserve this clearly unique biosphere, the
area between River Hooghly and the River Teulia was
declared a National Park in the year 1984. The protected
reserve covers a stretch of 1,330sq km, and also
constitutes the core zone of the National Park.
Compared to other reserves in the world, Sunderbans
National Park has the largest population of tigers, and
also abounds in salt water crocodiles, olive Ridley
turtles, Gangetic dolphins, chitals (spotted deer),
fishing cats, wild boars, otters, rhesus macaques, monitor
lizards, snakes, innumerable fishes, crabs, lobsters,
shrimps, worms and a host of birds including kingfishers,
storks, herons, Brahmin ducks, arghilahs, ibises, water
fowl and egrets, to name only a few.
How To Reach
Air : Getting to the Sunderban National Park is no mean
feat. The closest airport is the Dum Dum Airport in
Kolkata, at a distance of 166km from the Sunderbans.
Rail : The nearest railhead, at a distance of 105km, at
Canning, is not close either to this elusive destination.
From Canning you have to reach Sonakhali, from where the
adventure takes on another dimension altogether.
Boat Ride : You must now take a boat ride that lasts a
good six to seven hours, to Gosaba. This is followed by a
rickshaw ride to Pakhirala from where yet once again a
boat ferries you across to Sajnekhali – the base of the
Sunderbans National Park.
At a distance of 50km from the Sunderbans National Park,
Gosaba is the nearest town. Many travellers find it more
convenient to take a bus from Kolkata to Sonakhali or
Basunti via Babu Ghat. It is also possible to hire your
own private boat from Canning! For the uninitiated, the
journey provides the rites of passage to rural Bengal.
The Tiger Law Reigns Supreme
Though the Sunderbans National Park boasts of the largest
number of tigers, spotting one effortlessly is not half as
easy. That human existence is oftentimes at the mercy of
the tiger population is evident from the fact that roughly
20 man-eating cases are reported every year. Pretty much a
land where the jungle law reigns supreme, where only the
fittest are meant to prevail.
The islands are inundated twice every day due to tidal
action! It is interesting to see how the tiger, like the
other life forms, has adapted to this habitat against such
odds. The Sunderbans tiger is an adept swimmer, can
survive on brackish water, and is also known to feed on
fish and sea turtles.
Though you may cruise around the maze of islands, waiting
with bated breath to catch a fleeting glimpse of the
beautiful cat you may or may not see, your odyssey shall
nevertheless be a memorable one, with many coloured
kingfishers diving for their kill and the curious life of
a myriad tiny creatures weaving their own magic into it. |
