Sunderban... Aila

The Aila had a devastating effect on the Life in the Sunderbans...
its effects are etched on the hearts of the people there...and only time can heal the wounds! of the many real life experiences i heard i will narrate one...here i go...
the storm had struck Sunderban during low tide...generally in cases of flood or storm people run for shelter to the rooftops or the bandhs (embankments)...but this time there was nowhere to run to...
nowhere to hide...
nothing to hope for...
people put all their faith in God...probably Bonobibi, Shah Jongoli and Dokhkhinrai...and let Fate take over their lives...
One man in a desperate attempt to save his family put his two young sons in a big "haandi" and let them go in the stormy river, hoping that someone somewhere will save them and they'll live...he took shelter on a rooftop with his wife and father-in-law waiting for the monstrous storm to calm down... after the storm subsided he went looking for his sons...and he was lucky. his sons had been saved by boatmen who were out in the river at that time...
this is a story with a happy ending...but life is not a fairytale...people lost lives...families were separated...and dreams were destroyed...

on the day of the storm...i remember, my friends n i were sitting in our rooms in the hostel...taking in the beauty and enjoying the rain and wind in Durgapur...the only thing we were worried about was our semester practical exam scheduled for the next day...
how ironical...

this year Sunderban is not "celebrating" Durgapuja...Puja will take place but there will be no celebrations....they still have Faith but they dont have a reason to celebrate!

Sunderban...the Folklore....

Sunderban has a beautiful story to tell....its about Dokhkhinrai, the tiger king...Bonobibi and Shah Jongoli, the twin Deities who rule over the Sunderbans...donachacha and dhuke...and many others. The tale as narrated by a local is as follows...

The Sunderbans

Dhuke was the only son of a widow who lived in the sunderbans. dona was a boatman who had hired dhuke to do his biddings and run daily chores on the boat. Dhuke's maa had reluctantly relented to Dona's offer of hiring Dhuke and had made him promise that he'll treat Dhuke like his own son...and thus began Dhuke and Donachacha's journey. Dona wanted to collect honey from the forest and start a small business out of it....but Dona was not having much luck...wherever he went he met with failure...he could not find even a single drop of honey anywhere...confused and disheartened Dona gave up all hope. it was then that Dokhkhinrai appeared in his dream and told him that he must trade Dhuke for good luck! Dokhkhinrai wanted Dona to give up Dhuke to him...and promised that he will get as much honey as he wanted from the forest..but if he did not give Dhuke to the Tiger King he would drown on his way home. Dona reluctantly agreed. he sent Dhuke off to the forest to get firewood and sailed off...leaving Dhuke all alone at the mercy of Dokhkhinrai!
On realising what had happened Dhuke started praying to Bonobibi, the forest Goddess, for help. She and her brother Shah Jongoli fought the Tiger King and defeated him...and sent Dhuke home.
the struggle for power between the two forces, Bonobibi n Shah Jongoli and Dokhkhinrai continued for a long time till Gazi Saheb intervened and reached an understanding between them.

People of Sunderban offer prayers to these Deities every time they venture out to the forest...they narrate this tale in the form of Jatras and keep gthe folklore alive...!!

maa interacting with the locals

The Tiger Camp...

It was an amazing experience...spellbinding...enchanting...enthralling....actually words can hardly do justice to the experience i had in the truly sundor (beautiful) Sunderban...our trip began on Maha Chaturthi with the bus ride from Deshopriyo Park to Gosaba via Basanti...

from Gosaba a launch took us to the Sunderbans via the Durgaduyani river...and thus began our trip. the Sundari trees...the exotic birds...the wildlife...the life of the locals...the folklore...the folk music, mainly Adivasi with a touch of Sadri and/or a Noihati dialect...the Jhumur Akhera song "modhuro modhuro geeto gaiya...." performed by the Radha Krishna Sampraday...stole my heart away...

Glimpses of Sunderban...as seen through my eyes....

Sunderban is not just the land of the Royal Bengal Tiger or "Dokhkhinrai" as the locals call them meaning the King of Tigers...its way beyond that...its a way of life...its an experience that lives on long after you've returned to the busy city life...

i'm going back...as soon as i get a chance to do so!!

DeviPaksha...and what's coming up next...

i love this time of the year...its DeviPaksha...the countdown for the pujas is almost over...its Maha Panchami today...Pujas begin tomorrow...
well.....i actually have loads to write...just returned from a fantastic trip to the Sunderbans...and DurgaPuja officially commences from tomorrow...i'll be really busy hanging out with friends...pandal hopping and will be attending family reunions...so i guess i wont get time to update sa'matri'yoni till all these things are over...here's a synopsis of what's coming up next....
My Sunderban trip...
DurgaPuja '09
and whatever else happens till i post updates....
till then...Happy Pujas...