Sundarbans: The Human Side

Although Sundarbans is a National Park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is far from an untouched wilderness. The forest supports millions of people with the main industries being fishing, forestry and honey production. The life of the park and the livelihood of the people who depend on it are being jeopardised by hydroelectric dams upstream of Bangladesh in India and China and by overuse of resources by the very people who depend on the park. As with everything in this country, it is a fine balance on a loaded scale.

Canoe ferries across the river. Dozens went by in a matter of minutes carrying everything from produce to people to livestock.

Hauling a load of bricks downstream.

Returning to the mother ship after a day hiking in the mangrove.

On the prowl for tigers . . .

Fisherman's house and traditional boat.

Fisherman setting off in the dense early morning fog.

Shrimp fisherman and saris drying on rooftops.

Sundarbans: Birds and Beasts

I recently spent a very long and chillaxed weekend in Sundarbans the worlds largest mangrove forest and home of the Bengal tiger. We floated down to the Bay of Bengal on the MV Chhuti, sank to our knees in the mudflats and pretended we were National Geographic on assignment. The tiger alluded us but there were birds and beasts aplenty to distract us from our mission.

Most of the monkeys could be found on the boat but this little rhesus macaque was having a civilised breakfast in the shade of a mangrove tree.

A very rare Ruddy Kingfisher. We also saw a lemon yellow bird and a bright blue bird, some black woodpeckers and different sized white egrets to round out the rainbow coloured birds.

The coy tiger left her tracks (the guide said, by the tracks, she is female. I'm not going on a feminist bender that extends to wildlife.)

A green viper lounging in some branches.

The park rangers' pet wild boar. Don't worry, he's really a pet and not a named potential kebab. 'Tis a muslim nations so no pork to be had in BD.

A kite hunting in our wake.

Match day in Canada has come and gone

Not much fanfare to report, just me sitting anxiously by a computer with a less than reliable internet connection watching the clock move backwards. The verdict: Toronto.

The news was followed by an explosion of sorts as I developed a 24-hour stomach bug. Thankfully, I recovered. Likely the same cannot be said for the poor women who witnessed my demise on the way to the staff picnic. My sincerest apologies to her and thanks for holding my sawar kameez and scarf out of the loo and the chunder.

Dhaka University

Birthdays, Books and Bangladesh

How better to celebrate the birth of a nation than a book fair. Bangladesh's independence from West Pakistan (present day Pakistan) was spurned by the prospect of enforcing Urdu on the predominantly Bangla speaking people of East Pakistan (present day Bangladesh.) This, among other atrocities, was more than the Bangla-speaking people could tolerate. A war was waged and independence was had.

To commemorate the struggle to preserve culture and identity through language (they had after all been lumped into one country by the Brits on the basis of religion alone), Bangladeshi's call their national day not Bangladesh Day nor Independence Day nor Freedom Day but rather National Language Day. And to celebrate, they host a month long book fair on the grounds of the Bangla Academy, the country's centre for Bangla language preservation.

Don't get the wrong ideas. The book fair is no staid event. Humanity is heaped upon itself, bursting the bindings that hold the fragile stalls together. Children wail and weave through the crowds, lovers conceal their caresses in the anonymity of the crowd, the elderly catch thier breath while resting on the bust of the martyred language liberators, and all the while book wallas persistently peddle their glossy wares.