In Kolkata, winter is the only time when you don’t have to bother about the weather related problems, and you feel like going out, visiting places, and having fun in the sun. So, even though the beauty of Gangtok was still afresh in our minds, we were looking forward to shape up another short but memorable tour, and Sundarbans seemed to be a promising option.
To we Indians, the name ‘Sundarbans’ itself spells danger, adventure and wilderness, and reminds us of the famous Royal Bengal Tiger. The recent release of detective Feluda’s Royal Bengal Rahasya added more fuel to our expectations from this short visit to the dreaded beast’s hometown.
Unfortunately, Sundarbans fell much short of our expectations as the beauty and the beast both went missing. Let alone tiger, we could hardly see any animal, bird, or reptile in the so-called dense mangrove forest. Even the forest was not very intimidating and seemed more like low-height bushes. The greenery was not the kind of green that pacifies our eyes. I know beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, but to me, the monotonous view of Sundarbans consisted nothing more than stagnant water, silt and bushes that seemed to be on the verge of getting submerged in recent future. Personally, I would not recommend anybody to visit Sundarbans in search of wildlife or natural beauty.
However, for those who would still like to visit Sundarbans to witness the reality themselves, here is an account of our tour.
We learnt that Sundarbans is not the kind of place where hotels are galore and you can choose the one that suits you best. So, we decided to go for a package tour. As always, finance was a concern since we were a group of 9 people and we had to look for a package that costs less on per head basis.
After some research, we decided to take services from Sky Sketch India who was offering an economical package (Rs 2500 per head + guide charges) that included night stay at a lodge.
The tour package began on 28th January 2012. We were picked from our residence at 9 AM on a Sumo that got off EM Bypass near Science City and took us to Gadkhali through bumpy village roads. At 12:15 PM, we reached Gadkhali where our tour operator, Mr. Mutsuddi was waiting with his boat ‘Jungal Queen’. The boat was neat and spacious with several chairs on the deck and sleeping berths underneath the deck. We kept our luggage on one of the berths and took the deck with lots of excitement.
The boat started at 12:30 PM and tea was served immediately. The sunny weather was fantastic and the breeze lifted our mood. We clicked lots of photographs (of ourselves only) as the boat cruised through the stagnant water in between the mangrove forest.
Within an hour or so, we reached Sudhanyakhali Island that had a so-called tiger reserve and a broken watch tower. After waiting for a while near the watch tower, we saw two deers that had come for a sip of water.
We boarded our boat again and had lunch on the boat itself.
At around 5 PM, we reached the Pakhirala Island. After a 5 minutes walk through the village, we reached a cottage where our accommodation was arranged. The arrangements were up to the mark, but the tank water was dirty. We bought drinking water from the nearby shops and decided not to use the tank water for bathing.
Apart from water problem, another issue on the Pakhirala Island was that there was no electricity. Generator facilities were available only between 6 PM and 11 PM.
However, the hospitality was good and so the problems did not bother us much. Breakfast was served soon after we adjusted in our rooms.
We spent the evening playing cards and chatting with our Tour Operator, Mr. Mutsuddi, who seemed to be a simple, straight-talking person and a generous host. He got the dinner prepared according to our preferences and it was too tasty.
Next morning, our day started at 7:15 AM. Within half-an-hour, we reached Sajnekhali Island where our boat permissions were to be taken. While the permission process was going on, we had a quick visit to the wildlife museum.
From Sajnekhali, we went to Dobanki Island that had a deer park and an adjoining forest separated by a canopy. We walked through the canopy and could see several deers — no traces of tiger though. On the way to Dobanki, our guide briefed us about the Sundarbans and asked us to keep looking for the Royal Bengal Tiger. Unfortunately, we could see only fresh footsteps of a tiger that had crossed the river a while ago.
From Dobanki, we had a long boat ride to Gadkhali. We had lunch on the boat at 12 noon and reached Gadkhali at 3:30 PM. Our otherwise boring, long boat ride was made eventful by another boat that broke down on the way and joined our boat.
Our Sumo was waiting at Gadkhali and dropped us home at 7:45 PM.
Overall, the tour was not a memorable one, but we can still take note of a few high points. The weather did not cause any disturbance, Sky Sketch India’s services were admirable and so was Mr. Mutsuddi’s generosity. Also, somewhere on our way back, we reached a point where 5 rivers met and it looked like a wave-less, endless sea. Most importantly, we did not get into any kind of trouble throughout the tour.
