A Visit to the Sundarbans
Sundarban is the largest mangrove forest in the world is a mist-shrouded, river-riddled swamp region of shifting tides, man-eating tigers, and off-the-beaten-track adventure. I had an opportunity to visit the Sundarbans three months ago. It was in the month of February. This month is neither too hot nor too cold. There is very moderate weather this month. The sky remains clear and bright. The weather is charming. This is truly wild terrain, and chug-chugging along its river channels into its swampy heart of darkness is as thrilling as it is serene.
We, the second-year students of BL College, Khulna undertook the journey. Five young teachers also joined us. Among the teachers, two female teachers namely Monalisa Khan and Moushurni Farhana were also present to us. All the teachers were very enthusiastic, energetic, active, and enterprising. They all extended their wholehearted Co-operation in our venture. They guided and advised us the whole time of our visit. Their active supervision helped us to make our program a success.
The best time to go is during drier, cooler winter months from October to February. After February, temperatures heat up. Some locals prefer to visit between June and August when monsoon rains awaken the luscious forest, but many tour operators do not operate in this season because of the risk of flooding and cyclones.
Our friends Nazrul and Aminul took their auto-camera. One of our teachers is a good cook. He along with our bearers helped in cooking. We hired a launch and started our journey from Khulna. There were all arrangements for cooking ‘khichuri with hilsha fish.” We had sweetmeats, fruits, eggs, bread with us for our breakfast. After starting our journey, we had our breakfast. The students were fifty in number. Arif and Maruf are good singers. Tareq is an accomplished guitarist. We were really amused when they offered songs and played on the guitar. The cooking was going on. We are going through the lake and river in the Sundarbans areas. It was really very attractive to see the banks on both sides. Now the Sundarbans have been declared a World Heritage Site. It is the 52nd World Heritage Site in the world. It has got special attention as a mangrove forest. The Sundarbans is an attractive tourist spot. Many foreigners like to see its natural beauty. For them, it’s a beautiful place to visit.
In the forest, “Kotka” is the most attractive place. We got down from the launch. The fisherman was catching fishes in the lake. The “Bawalees” were collecting woods. We went into the forest. But our teachers forbade us to go too deep into the forest. We could see some footprints of the famous Royal Bengal Tigers and some spotted deer. We were surprised to see many crocodiles bathing in the sunshine. Many snakes feared us. But we were amused to see the monkeys climbing and hanging from one tree to another. At noon, we finished our lunch with “khichory” and hilsha. In the evening, we started our return journey and reached Khulna at 10 o’clock at night.
Additionally, the Sundarbans serves a crucial function as a protective barrier for the millions of inhabitants in and around Khulna and Mongla against the floods that result from the cyclones. The forest provides the raw material for wood-based industries. To conclude, we have a very enjoyable visit to the Sundarbans. It is an unforgettable event for me. I shall remember the visit forever.
