Trip Report : Sundarbans

It has been a while since I have posted here. The instant gratification that posting a picture on instagram brings can be blamed for that :). However, that gratification is fleeting at best and here I am – back to long form expression.

The gang at work had been itching for a trip. The hybrid/remote work paradigm also means that such trips with the team are a great opportunity to get to know each other well (or at least better). We had previously done short distance trips together but this was the first time many of us would travel long distance together and that too on a train. Train journeys evoke fond nostalgia for most of us. The hum-drum of corporate life had ensured that most of us hadn’t been a on a long train journey in years. Train journeys onboard Indian Railways are the best form of slow travel (by slow I am not alluding to the speed of the train – it was plenty fast!). They give co-passengers the opportunity to sit together, relax, share anecdotes and meals. Even sitting by the window, watching the landscape change and speed past and reminiscing moments in life gone by has a bitter-sweet therapeutic quality to it.

On 26th September, we boarded the Howrah Rajdhani to Kolkata from New Delhi on an unforgettable 17 hour journey to Kolkata. Some of us were meeting in person for the first time. The ease and comfort in meeting colleagues in a non work setting is underrated. In a matter of minutes, we went from strangers to a group of friends going on a trip. There was banter, leg pulling, card games, comics (train journeys are incomplete without these, aren’t they? )and a lot of eating. Train journeys lets you experience India like no other mode of transport can. The changing food at the stations, the dialect of the vendors, the language on the signboards keep informing a traveler of the progress made in the journey. At 9:30 AM the next day, the Rajdhani rolled into the historic Howrah railway station. Upon alighting at Howrah, one seems to have traveled back in time. The colonial yet regal architecture of the railway station and the yellow Ambassador taxis took us back to much simpler, slower times.

The trip was meticulously planned by our friend Subhabrata. Our tempo traveler was waiting for us as we exited the railway station. The traveler would take us to Gadkhali which is a 2 hour drive from Howrah. Of course, the choicest Bengali sweets and snacks were waiting for us in the vehicle. From Gadkhali, we boarded a ferry that took us across the estuary to Gosaba island where our resort was situated.

A little bit about Sundarbans. Sundarbans is the mangrove forest that covers most of the largest river delta in the world created by the combined streams of the Ganga and Brahmaputra. It is a biodiversity hotspot and home to many endemic species of birds and animals found only there. The amount of water in the distributaries of the mega river system needs to be seen to be believed. Imagine all the run-off from the snow packs in the Himalayas, all of the monsoon run-off from the Himalayan watershed and a large chunk of water from the central Tibetan plateau ends up in this delta.

On the Indian side much of this unique ecology is protected via the Sundarbans National Park. This is home to two ferocious predators – a large tiger population (approximately 100 adults)and the highest density of saltwater crocodiles in the subcontinent. The Sundarbans tiger has adapted to the environment. It is smaller than other Royal Bengal tiger populations to work its way through the dense mangrove undergrowth, can swim miles across estuaries and has a knack for eating humans. Humans on the menu isn’t an aberration here. It is the nature of these tigers. No surprise that Sundarbans record the highest number of human kills (close to a hundred) by tigers every year in India. Salt water crocodiles are also known to grab human prey when possible. Other than these 2 marquee species, Sundarbans play host to a staggering variety of flora and fauna.

The prime activity at Sundarbans is a day long boat safari that takes you from Gosaba island through the network of estuaries big and small. From the boat, visitors can see various birds and animals on the banks. The lucky ones will spot a crocodile or see a tiger swimming across the channel. On the way, the boat stops at Sudhanyakhali interpretation centre where visitors can disembark and learn more about the ecosystem. We were lucky to spot a Northern River Terrapin, a rare turtles species of which only 100 odd individuals remain in the wild, at one of the conservation nurseries.

While we did not spot a tiger (we missed it by a whisker), we were all awestruck by nature’s beauty and also the extent to which life goes to adapt itself to a particular environment. We however more than made up the disappointment of missing the big cat by birding around the resort.

The moments spent on the boat and in the company of friends will be cherished for a long time. The memories will continue to invite a tired soul back to Sundarbans to replenish it with the juice of life – the primal connection that all of us have with nature!