The Sundarbans are like no other reserve forests in India

Type Naturewildlife Best from Kolkata You need 3 days The majestic MV Chitrarekha going at a speed of barely five knots an hour slowly came to a standstill The engine stuttered to a halt as softly as a threestoried luxury ferry can Sixty pairs of ears strained hard and 60 pairs of eyes waited a seemingly endless wait Then there was a faint but unmistakable rustling sound in the mangroves to the left of us near the bank A passenger ship cruises along a waterway of The Sundarbans the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world lsquoSundarbanrsquo literally means lsquobeautiful junglersquo and is named after the Sundari trees that abound here u00a0The forest covers 10000 sq km of which about 6000 are in Bangladesh AFP Photos Then there was a collective sharp intake of breath on the deck of the ship as a majestic Royal Bengal tiger appeared from behind the bushes looked around cautiously before plunging into the Matla river as if it were his private swimming pool A tigress wearing a radio collar wades through a river after being released by wildlife workers in Storekhali forest in the Sundarbans In many ways it is indeed his pool albeit not private with the river pretty much swarming with crocodile apart from various kinds of fish Yet despite the presence of a wide variety of flora and fauna there is little doubt about who rules the largest mangroves forests of the world Boats at a village near the Sunderbans The Royal Bengal one of the most elusive creatures in the world is the star attraction of the Sundarbans a UNESCO World Heritage site And on a warm summerrsquos day in April a few of us old college buddies from Kolkata booked a luxury cabin for ourselves and set off from the City of Joy looking forward to some serious thrills The Sundarban National Park as it is called is roughly 130 km from the city but because of the bad road conditions and the fact that one has to travel by road and then on water to reach the ferry means itrsquos a nearly sevenhour journey We went well prepared cell phone batteries chargers earplugs on potato chips and chilled beer cans in the bag The bus ride through rural south Bengal is pleasing to the eye but by the time we were on the ferry from Basanti to Sajnekhali the embarking point for the trip we were already a bit tired Three more hours later as the clock struck three we arrived at our first port of call The white MV Chitrarekha gleamed in the midday sun standing regally in the midst of the rampaging Matla river The Matla and the Piyali are two of the most dreaded rivers in the region as every monsoon they invariably rise to fearsome levels and flood villages on either side of the delta in India and Bangladesh At the moment though it looked relatively timid a result of nine months of dry weather Soon we were on our way refreshed by a welcome drink that the chief mate offered each of us as we stepped onto the ferry Our room was small and basic but comfortable No suites like one gets on the Nile cruise for instance but an airconditioned room with four berths much like a AC first class compartment in a train and an en suite bathroom Good enough for four 40yearolds trying to roll back the years We were soon at the top deck though braving the heat as we scanned the horizon for signs of life almost as if a tiger would emerge from the dense forests that surrounded us on both sides to say a roaring hello Day one was actually quiet with lots of unnamed birds and an occasional deer and a herd of wild pigs giving us reasons to take out our cameras and binoculars The captain who knew these waters inside out told us we had actually picked a great time to visit ldquoSummer is when most watering holes inside the forest dry up and so tigers venture out a lot more to drink water from the riverrdquo he informed us advising us to go easy on the beer so that we could wake up at the crack of dawn on the morrow We nodded sagely promptly downed our next can of Budweiser and then hungry after a hard dayrsquos travel headed for the scrumptious buffet Next morning we were up at 430 am even before the cocks crowed Was this the Matla we had seen last evening She had merged with Piyali as we sailed overnight and now resembled the sea so wide that one could barely see the other bank In the far horizon one could sea the open sea and what looked like large merchant vessels Suddenly even as we watched a big crocodile sunning itself on the muddy left bank of the river a herd of deer on the other bank which had probably come to drink water pricked their ears and the next moment broke into a run Somewhere in the distance we could hear the shrill shout of an animal ldquoThatrsquos a group of monkeys warning the deer about a tiger in the vicinityrdquo one of the officers on board told us in a hushed tone followed by a simple message ldquoshhhhrdquo And then it happened That bright orange and black striped skin that huge fearsome face and those large stridesmdashall that we had seen on Animal Planet and from the comfort of jeeps inside other reserve forests in India ndash all came back to us in a flurry But the thrill of seeing a tiger in its natural habitat and watching it not from a jeep as it sat panting under the shade of a tree but striding across the river banks in search of food and water is a sight none of us will forget in a hurry The king sniffed the air realised he had missed its prey by a few seconds He for this was a male of the species then settled down for a drink gave us a look of disdain and had a quick swim before heading back for the shore disappearing from sight almost as noiselessly as he had arrived There was a reason why the tiger had headed back for the safety of land though In a few minutes a large crocodile a cousin perhaps of the one chilling out on the opposite bank poked its nose out of the water and regally walked on to the sandy beach where another majestic beast had just given us a rare sighting ldquoYou guys are all very lucky Many people have come two or three times and still havenrsquot sighted a tiger hererdquo Captain Dutta told us After a fairly heavy breakfast at 7 am we headed for our only contact with land in the midst of the dense forest The only people who venture into these forests are the woodcutters and honey gatherers who regularly risk their lives for their livelihood Even as we stepped on to the small boat to reach the banks the boatman pointed to a place in the water where a long stick seemed to be sticking out ldquoThe sticks warn locals that a tiger recently took away a person or a cattle from that spot so that they are alert when they step outrdquo he said sending a chill down our spine We were almost at handshaking distance from the spot as he spoke Soon we were inside a netted protected area inside the forest where we quickly climbed up a wooden ladder to reach the top of a machaan The foliage was dense and we could hardly make out what lay even a 100 metres ahead of us And this was at 9 am in the morning on a bright and clear day Once again as we all strained our eyes something moved in the midst of the riot of yellow and green A deer emerged and then another and another happily chomping on some leaves and grass oblivious to our presence till then heard the sounds of a few dozen camera shutters They quickly vanished from sight We were left standing inside our barbed wiresurrounded machaan wondering at the marvels of nature But it felt odd We were inside a protected cage The tigers and other wild animals free on the outside Perhaps this is for the best For this is their land the last safe haven for the endangered Royal Bengal And it is only fair that humans be kept at a safe distance from these wonderful beasts in their natural habitat Make it happen More on tiger land Named after the giant Sundari trees that dot the region the Sundarbans National Park is a magnificent mangrove junglemdashthe only one of its kind in the world This UNESCO world heritage site is spread over 54 islands and extends into neighbouring Bangladesh Part of the Sundarbans is home to a 2585 sq km Tiger Reserve which includes a 1330 sq km national park Getting there At the mouth of the Ganga and several of its tributaries and distributaries such as the Matla and Piyali the Sundarbans is 130 km from Kolkata The nearest railway station is in Canning but the entrance to the Sundarbans national park is at Sajnekhali If one leaves early in the morning it takes around six hours to reach Sajnekhali first by bus till Basanti village near Canning and then on a small ferry to the mouth of the aweinspiring Matla Where to stay The Sajnekhali tourist lodge is a good option if one wants to leave the ferry and camp a few nights in the midst of tigers The Sundarban Tiger Camp and the Jungle Camp at Bali island are two more luxurious options Depending on where one stays the cost for a night could vary fromu00a0Rs 900 to Rs 5000 per roomu00a0