6-02-23
We boarded the launch boat, MB Debraj and when all the passengers had settled down, we started from the pier. Most of us sat above deck. We were moving slowly, and it was a good way to experience a different world. For quite some time we saw land to one side and mangroves forests on the other. We have seen small mangrove trees on the way to our village in Kerala, but this was so different. The world seemed far away.
We stopped for a while at Gosaba Island to see Beacon’s House built by Daniel Hamilton. Rabindranath Tagore had stayed there while visiting Sunderbans. It is a wooden house and there are statues of Tagore and Hamilton in the garden. Most of us took photos there 😊.
We started from there at 1.20. There are many interconnected rivers here. We watched the trees in the distance as they slipped past. They seemed to be same kind of trees but we learnt there are different types of mangrove trees. At 2.15 we left Durgadhwani river and cruised along the Gomdi.
We saw many cargo ships from Bangladesh. They have two flags flying, of India and of their country. They transport fly-ash from Indian thermal plants. It is used to make bricks. I did not even know there was something called fly-ash 😊.
We were served lunch on board. I think we were the only vegetarians and they had kept the food in separate containers. Aravind did not eat anything. The food was good, but they use a lot of spices and condiments. It was different from what we cook at home.
We were cruising along. It is like meditation. The Sunderbans is the natural habitat of the Royal Bengal tiger. These majestic creatures are very good swimmers and swimming across broad rivers (5kms) is child’s play for them. They take just seven minutes to cross and find their victims in the villages. So, along the forest edge fences and mesh were erected to stop the attacks. These structures act as a ‘psychological barrier.’ We saw monkeys strolling on the banks. There were beautiful birds too. It was nearing 5 and the sun was setting.
We reached our resort before it became dark. There are many rooms in the building with lawns in the front. At the back there was a kitchen garden too. There were many Tinda (Indian Squash) plants. We do not get them in our place. But we get something similar called Nulkol.
At the entrance there was a pond with a bridge over it. There were beautiful pink lotuses. Our room was upstairs. It was cold too. We were asked to come to a hall downstairs at 6.30 to watch a tribal dance and listen to their songs. It was nice. In the 18th century James Hamilton from Scotland brought many tribals from Madhya Pradesh to clear the forest on the islands of Sunderbans. Their descendants are still living there. I wonder what those people must have felt about coming to live in a watery realm!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gosaba
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangrove
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinda
Mukhamani 
Comments are welcome :)