Binny had come to Kolkata from Gurgaon during the winter holiday. Riya and Reyansh also joined her from far-off Pittsburgh, as they wanted to enjoy the holidays and have fun together. Kolkata was not that cold, and the weather was pleasant with the sun shining. It was not gloomy and overcast like in the two cities where they lived.

As you know, a holiday is no fun unless you go for an outing, and no place could be better than the Sundarbans. It was just a four hour drive from Kolkata. So the three kids excitedly packed their bags, and with their parents and grandparents started for the Sundarbans very early in the morning. Dada told them that the Sundarbans was a delta consisting of thousands of islands crisscrossed by big rivers and creeks, flowing into the sea, the mighty Bay of Bengal. Some of the islands had forests so dense that humans cannot live there. This was the home of the ferocious Royal Bengal Tiger. In the rivers lived the fearsome crocodiles, and a lot of fish and crabs. There were varieties of birds and snakes, including the python, in the forest. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve is a world-renowned mangrove forest spreading across two countries, India and Bangladesh.

We reached a place called Godkhali, which had a ferry ghat. The ferry took us across a big river to Gosaba, and travelling by rickshaw on a rickety village road, we reached a wonderful resort. Binny, Riya and Reyansh played on the lawn nearby and jumped up and down on the trampoline. Binny then said, "Dada, why is there a fence surrounding the resort?" Dada said, "It is just a precaution, my dear, so that wild animals from the forest do not enter the resort." Riya was alarmed, "Do tigers come?" Dada said, "Not at all, they live far away in the deep forests."

After taking lunch, we all took a ride in a small launch. Besides the captain and a crew of two young boys, a guard also went with us. We had to delicately balance ourselves on a narrow plank of wood fixed on the bank to get to the launch. "Be careful," said the captain, "if you lose your balance you will fall into the slippery mud below." Reyansh was excited, "I can see crabs running in the mud!" Dada said, "It is called silt, deposited on the river by the mighty rivers Ganges and Brahmaputra, which meet here. The islands rise from the silt. The silt is very fertile for growing crops." We all sat on the deck to get the full view of the river. The engine started with a sputtering sound, and we moved away from the shore. The captain stood behind a big wheel, turning it to guide the launch on the right course. A strong cool breeze was blowing. The kids gasped at seeing the mighty river, and Binny shouted, "What a big and wide river! You can hardly see the bank on the other side. There are only forests stretching on both banks of the river, covered by thin fog in the far distance."

Dada said, "This is the Sundarbans, and you are seeing the biggest mangrove forest in the world. The Sundarbans gets its name from the trees called Sundari, whose roots go deep inside the mud of the banks. Normally you don't see the roots of trees in other forests, but here the forest is something special. Now there is low tide, and since the water is low, you can see the twisted roots." Riya said, "They look like many snakes clinging together!" Dada added, "These roots will be hidden after some time, when the water rises during high tide. The roots are so strong that the trees are not uprooted when severe storms called cyclones hit the Sundarbans during the monsoons."

Binny asked, "What causes the tides?" Dada explained, "It is the distant Moon which pushes and pulls on the water of the oceans and seas and causes a bulge in the water — that gives us the tides, twice a day." The kids stood clutching the railing firmly and watched the forests moving by. You could see only the trees on the banks, not inside the forest, since the jungle was so dense. Occasionally a heron or an egret flew by. As the launch chugged along the calm river, Reyansh suddenly spotted something leaping out of the water and shouted, "It's a big fish!" Everybody rushed to the other side of the launch. The captain said, "It is not a fish. It is the famous Ganges River Dolphin, which lives only in the Sundarbans rivers. There were plenty of dolphins long ago, but the numbers are few now, as many died when caught in fishermen's nets. Now fishing in the rivers with big nets is banned, to save this species. You are very lucky to have sighted it." It was now Binny and Riya who cried out and pointed, "There is a big crocodile sunning on the muddy bank!"

As the launch moved, the kids saw creeks branching off from the main river. It was like a big stream with trees hanging overhead on both sides. There was an eerie silence, and it was dark in the distance. It seemed so mysterious and creepy, as if some invisible spirit lived there. The kids clasped each other's hands firmly. After some time, the launch turned and moved into one of these creeks. Everyone felt uncomfortable. It was okay to see the creeks from the wide main river, but now the creek was so narrow that the trees from the banks were almost touching the launch. The engine was cut off, and the launch moved silently through the dark forest. The captain said, "Don't be afraid, I just wanted you to get a real feel of the forest."

After a little wait, the captain said, "Now we will go back." He cranked the engine, but it would not start. He tried again, but failed. There was a worried look on his face. The guard took a rifle out of the cupboard and peered into the forest. It was getting pitch dark as the sun was setting. Suddenly there was screeching of birds from the trees above, and we heard a rustling sound on the forest floor in a nearby clump of sundari trees. Everyone was frightened. What if a tiger, camouflaged by the green and yellow sundari trees, was hiding there, waiting to jump onto the launch? It seemed something invisible was watching us. Suddenly the engine started, and we made a dash towards the main river. Did we see a streak of yellow and black stripes moving quickly through the trees along the bank? Was it following the launch? Or was some spirit in the creeks playing tricks on our minds, and were we only imagining things out of fear? In no time, the launch was speeding along the main river. The captain and everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Darkness had set in. There was silence, and no one spoke on the way back. After a short while we reached the ferry ghat and were safe in the resort. We were excited, but also a little frightened.

After drinking hot milk and warm tea to energise us, we walked around the brightly lit resort. Dada said, "Now I will tell you something important. The Sundarbans is sinking, as the water level is rising. This is because of global warming. Repeated storms and severe cyclones, like Amphan, have destroyed the mangrove forests and the homes of the people. The paddy fields and fish farms are flooded, and farmers and fishermen cannot grow crops or breed fish, as these are covered with salt water. People are leaving the Sundarbans. The wildlife is disappearing. We need to save the Sundarbans." The children were sad to hear this. Walking further, we came across a temple. There was a goddess sitting on a tiger, with a young man by her side. People were offering her flowers and singing Palagaan, taking turns to sing. Binny asked the priest, "Who is the goddess?" He said, "She is Bon Bibi, the lady of the forest, and the young man is her brother, Shah Jongoli. She is worshipped by everyone, particularly the honey collectors and the woodcutters, who pray before they enter the forest so that they are not attacked by tigers. The tiger is the Demon King Dokkhin Rai in disguise." Dada was surprised. "Oh, this is the goddess Bon Bibi!" Riya said, "Dada, do you know her story?" "Yes, I do." "Then please tell us!"

Beside the crackling campfire, the kids in their warm clothes sat down to listen to the story. Dada began, "Dokkhin Rai was an evil spirit who was the Lord of the jungle. He was feared by everyone, and under the guise of a tiger, killed the people of the forest as his prey. The poor people prayed to the heavens to save them from this beast. Two beings of great power, Bon Bibi, the lady of the forest, and her brother Shah Jongoli, heard the prayers and rushed to the forest. Bon Bibi was strong but full of compassion. Her brother was a warrior. Dokkhin Rai took the shape of a tiger and, with his army of ghosts, fought fiercely against Bon Bibi. The tiger was defeated and lay prostrate, pinned beneath Shah Jongoli. His end was near. But Bon Bibi did not kill him — they wanted only to end his tyranny. They drew a line between the forest with the rivers, where the demon would live, and the land where the good people would stay. Dokkhin Rai would reign over the jungles of the South and never cross the line — Dokkhin, in Bengali, means south. There was peace in the Sundarbans, and the people lived without fear of the demon.

"Now, there were two brothers, Dhona and Mona, who were rich merchants. Mona was a good man, but Dhona was greedy and wanted more riches. There was no better place than the mangrove jungles, with their wealth of wax, timber and honey, all there for the taking. He tried to convince Mona to go with him, but Mona refused, saying he was quite happy with the riches he already had, and warned Dhona not to go, as the jungle was a dangerous place. But Dhona did not listen, and sailed off with a fleet of seven ships. On the way he picked up Dukhey, his nephew — the only son of his poor aunt. He tempted Dukhey with the promise that he would become rich if he came along. Dukhey's mother did not want him to go, since there was danger in the forest, but she ultimately agreed when Dhona assured her that he would look after him and no harm would come to him. Dhona then travelled far with his ships. They reached the South and entered the jungle — the very region where Dokkhin Rai ruled. He saw them, even though Dhona and his men were not aware of it.

"Dokkhin Rai then wove a magic, and the trees became full of honeycombs. When Dhona tried to gather the honey, he found nothing in the combs — tree after tree full of honeycombs, but no honey at all. He felt afraid that some spirit must be tricking him. But it was too late. Dokkhin Rai appeared before him, fierce and huge. Dhona fell to his feet and pleaded for his life. The demon said, 'You greedy man — you dare come into my kingdom to steal my wealth.' Dhona said, 'I will give you all my riches!' But Dokkhin Rai said, 'I don't want your riches. I want human blood, which I have not tasted for a long time. If you give me the tender young man, I will allow you to take the honey.' Dhona was such a wicked person that he agreed, and leaving poor Dukhey behind in the jungle, set sail with the honey Dokkhin Rai had given him. Just as the tiger was closing in, Dukhey, out of fright, prayed to Bon Bibi, 'The tiger will kill me now. Bon Bibi, have pity on me and save me.' Bon Bibi, hearing his prayer, called her brother Shah Jongoli, and both rushed to Dukhey at lightning speed. They fought the tiger and beat him, and he lay prostrate and surrendered to them.

"In the meantime, Dhona reached home with his riches. When his aunt asked about Dukhey, he told her that Dukhey had gone off on his own into the jungle to get firewood, had not returned, and must have been eaten by a tiger. Dukhey's mother fainted. But all of a sudden, Dukhey appeared, with Bon Bibi by his side. He prayed to Bon Bibi to wake his mother, and whispered, 'Ma, I am here.' She became conscious, and on seeing Dukhey, was overjoyed. Dukhey looked angrily at his uncle and told his mother that Dhona had lied to her and was an evil man. Bon Bibi told Dukhey to forgive his uncle. Dhona said sorry to Dukhey and gave him all his riches of honey. Poor Dukhey became rich. With the blessing of Bon Bibi, he married and lived happily with his mother and his wife. They were all grateful to Bon Bibi and prayed to her for saving him from the tiger. He learnt from her that one should be happy with whatever one has, and not be greedy for wealth."

There is another lesson we should remember. Bon Bibi had told the people that while Dokkhin Rai would not cross the line and come to the land where human beings live, so too humans should not cross the line and go into the forest. But sadly, some people, in search of honey and crabs, disobey Bon Bibi and go into the forest. They are sometimes attacked and killed by the tigers. There are also some wicked people who cut down trees for wood, and poachers who hunt the animals, including the tigers. So we should never disturb the animals in the forest, which is their home — by destroying the forests, we drive the animals from their homes, and they die.

The kids were tired and feeling drowsy after such an exciting day of adventure. In no time they were fast asleep, dreaming of the brave goddess Bon Bibi and her brother, standing watch beside their beds. They felt no fear at all.