95 likes, 13 comments - natasha_behzad on July 30, 2024: “Yesterday was World tiger day and I thought of sharing this . I was going around the villages when I stumbled upon these fishermen who were supposed to embark upon a 8-day journey into the forest to collect honey, crabs and fish as that is their only source of livelihood. Fishermen from the other villages have already left in a batch of 3s and 5s. All of them might not return though.. So we were just chitchatting when one of them suddenly noticed pug marks of a tigress and her cubs on the border of the village. We were the first to spot it and neither the forest officials nor the villagers knew about this development till then. I obviously looked around and freaked out thinking that the tigress might be hiding somewhere near with her cubs but the fishermen seemed pretty cool about it as if this happened every other day. A lot has been said & written about the man – animal conflict that a place like Sunderban deals with on a everyday basis. But the fact remains that nothing has changed. The tigress still crosses the river to take shelter in the nearby villages to protect her cubs from the male tigers and the fishermen seeks the treasure trove that this magical forest has so fiercely guarded for so long. The fishermen say that the forest tests your agility and intelligence through the tiger. If you are smart and LUCKY you MIGHT escape the ‘Dokkhin Rai’ (another name for the tiger, the beast who rules Sunderban) They don’t say ‘Bagh’ as they believe that to say its name is to summon him) . They also say that no matter what, the tiger is also the protector of this magical ecosystem! Pic 1 : Pug Marks of the tigress and her cubs prowling along the fringes of a village Pic 2: Discovery by chance! Fishermen describing how the tigress might have crossed Pic 3 : This fisherman has curious eyes , knows so much about the boats and tides! Pic 4 : Me chit chatting with the fishermen Pic 5 : This Woman drying the cow dung hears the beast roar every other night! So close is her hut to the jungle Pic 6 : Interesting painting ! Pic 7 : The boat came to a slow stop, we got down in the mud and had to push it to the point from where it could sail . #sunderbans”.