Mangrove Chronicles - Part I

It was twilight as I struggled to look beyond an arm’s length. Kashi da, who had been quiet and reserved throughout the boat journey had finally broken his silence. I had been itching to strike the right note with him after a seven hour long journey. The journey that took us deep into the mangrove forests and little half-submerged islands. It may have been the dialect that I used; or my genuine interest that he eventually opened up. His intense eyes that were keenly searching for patrolling boats of forest guards spoke of his encounters with the man-eaters of the Sunderbans.

“The light fades off extremely fast in the delta” – I remembered reading somewhere. As the shadows thickened, I was trying hard to see if he had any permanent marks left from the fierce encounters. Did he have two-less fingers or three? Did I somewhere spot a small tear drop while he spoke of his nephew being dragged by the creature “we don’t speak of!” These were trivial questions for most of my gang that was busy playing cards on the upper deck of the motor boat. As the high tides set in, the old motor started making restless noises battling the heavy undercurrent. I was barely ready with my next question for Kashi da as the silhouettes of a dark creature suddenly emerged a few metres from the boat.

I was too shy to raise an alarm wondering if it was my tired eyes or a long day of antiquity blue speaking. Before I could react, Kashi da was on his toes. He was well into his late fifties and had been wearing a blue chequered lungi with off-white stripes and a white vest that hugged his distinct ribs. A farmer turned honey-searcher turned helper for tiger surveys turned a boat-man, Kashi da had something very intriguing about his facade. He quickly hushed something to his helper nephew who was in his early teens. Once again my Bengali let me down as i stood up bemused holding the wooden railing. The sudden movements in the boat had alerted the wasted lot of nine men who seemed to be in a state of trance.

Meanwhile before anyone could react, this creature came tantalizingly close; took one full rotation around the boat and in a blink of an eye went down, right under the boat. To evade an attack in case the dark creature emerged out, everyone tried ducking for cover. In panic, the entire gang of drunken men had moved to one side of the boat, making it bend into the water. Now I could hear my heart thump louder than the dying motor. Despite the huge lump in my throat and my weight shifting towards the bend, I tried taking charge. “Get five on each side of the boat!! Balance your weights…” I shouted but was royally ignored. Kashi da’s timely intervention saved me from a cardiac arrest.

“It’s a Gangetic dolphin guys. Gimme a light” – said a nonchalant Abhigyan who was tipped to be the smartest of the lot, as he pulled a pack of cigarette from his pocket. It took me no time to realize, it was Amitav Ghosh speaking out loud in the voice of our well-read man trapped amidst the hungry tides. For Dipjoy who had done his post-graduate research here in the delta, it was a crocodile. For Abhishek if I remember well, it was a large over-bloated fish. My profession of an analyst had taught me to consider information from credible sources only. I immediately turned to my key opinion leader – Kashi da who for the first time displayed deep lines on his forehead. And this time even the guy standing next to me could hear my heart thump loud. The motor had breathed its last…