The queen who rules the Sunderbans

Ever heard of tiger widows? According to a recent survey, there are around 3,000 tiger widows in the Sunderbans, a huge labyrinth of islands which is said to be one of the most fascinating regions on earth, off the easternmost coast of India. Life here is enormously precious and therefore always prayed for.

The prayers here are said to be made to and heard by the queen of the forest, called ‘Bonobibi’ in local language. According to the legend, she is the guardian deity of the forest, divided between India and Bangladesh, along with the tiger god, known as ‘Dakkhin Ray’.

I first heard of ‘bonobibi’ while reading Amitav Ghosh’s ‘The Hungry Tide’ set in the mangrove forests of the Sunderbans. Ghosh narrates the tale of the forest god through Fokir’s recitation. While the novel leaves an imprint through its characters it is the magnificent surroundings of the forest that continues to haunt the reader.

Both Hindus and Muslims in Sunderbans have an immense faith in the folk cult and when the men go to the jungle to fend for the family, the wives, left behind, pray to the forest queen for their safe return. Many fast for days, eating just one meal in the day and do not take bath till their husbands return home.

Home to royal Bengal tigers, known to be man-eaters and long distance swimmers, moving from island to island, Sunderbans faces an alarming increase in human-tiger conflict. In this case, humans raiding tiger habitat! This is the only mangrove forest in the world that is not just home to tigers but is said to have the highest population of big cats in the world. Poverty is said to be the main reason behind human-animal conflict here. The breadwinners end up going to forests to earn their livelihood.

The tragedy doesn’t end here. Those who get injured cannot go to government hospitals as they are illegal intruders. Even when killed, the families have to keep it a secret. In case a woodcutter has license and gets killed due to tiger attack, the government gives a one-time compensation of Rs. 30,000.

Many don’t come back. Fearing this, the islanders pray to the forest and look up to ‘Bonobibi’ as a unified symbol of the forest and people, outside the purview of caste, class and religion. There are idols that are found across the forest. Even ‘Bonobibi’ puja is celebrated in the month of December and sees an amalgamation of people, making it a social festival.

Sundarbans is one of the poorest and most densely populated regions of South Asia. It has around 8 million people, both India and Bangladesh combined. This population is heavily dependent on its fragile ecosystem. The Sundarbans, which is part of India, has 44% of population belonging to schedule caste and tribe, 85% are dependent on agriculture, out of which 90% are agricultural labourers and farmers.

While the folklore of the forest queen continues to fascinate many, it raises some poignant questions about poverty, literacy and quality of life in the region. How and when did the myth take birth, is it because the people of the region have no human faces (read government) to look up to?