The Tigress of Sundarban : short story

 Short Story

The Tigress Of Sundarban

The Tigress of Sundarban : best short story online

When she born, her mother died at her seventeenth for some complex physical problems. The old woman who was an experienced 'dhai'(in rural areas who helps women to give birth of child) handed her over to her father. In the interior rural areas, a girl child was not welcomed in the same way as a boy. But her father accepted her with his heart and soul. He named his beloved child as Reba.

They lived in a village at Sundarban Wild Life Sanctuary. The village was situated nearby the core area of Royal Bengal Tiger reserved forest. Her father was a fisherman. He had not much time to accompany her whole day long. He worked very hard from sunrise to sunset for earning their livelihood. Her grandma looked after Reba at the day time. She had to obey all the hard rules of that old woman. She was not permitted to go and play outside as her will except the afternoon. But whenever she got a chance she utilized that very well and ended with verbal and physical abusing. But when her father returned home at evening, she got her freedom. Though tired, he accompanied his 'princess' as best as he could. He even refused to marry second time. He was afraid that his new bride would not tolerate Reba.

In the beginning of her adolescence she was fallen badly for a boy Lokhai, who belonged in a woodcutter family in their village. She was unable to hide her feelings for Lokhai from her father's eyes. When Reba was sixteen, her father talked with Lokhai's father and arranged their marriage. Then Reba's father tried hard to collect more money to pay high amount of dowry to Lokhai's father. He started to go to fishing even overnight in the back water of Bay of Bengal. Everything was going smoothly. But, before the marriage, he died. A fierce cyclone took him away while he was fishing in the Bay at midnight. Lokhai's father arranged another bride for his son from the neighbour village.

Reba's grandma could not bear the agony of her son's death and she passed away just after a week of that incident. Reba's maternal uncle took her with him. He arranged marriage of Reba with a man who was a honey collector and wood cutter, lived in that village. The man was 20 years older than Reba. But he loved her very much. He was a nice person. He was honest and caring to Reba. Reba was living a happy life with him, though She could not forget Lokhai.

Shortly she understood that happiness was not for her. She had only sufferings in her fate. One night Reba's husband went outdoor to response in the call of Nature, but did not return. Next day his half eaten body was found in the river bank jungle outside the village.

Now Reba left nobody except her maternal uncle. Her uncle offered her to go and live with his family. But Reba knew very well that his economical condition was not even sufficient. She would be a burden for him. So she returned to her father's property and started to work hard for living. Even she started to go to the jungle to collect honey with the group of woodcutters.

Other villagers did not take it easily. At the first place she was a woman and secondly, she was widow. An widow, going to the jungle, with a number of non-relative men, in the same boat, for a week --- these were totally unexpected in a village society. So, Reba had to digest different types of pranks from the villagers. But she had no time to listen to them. She had to survive. There were nobody to help her.

Lokhai was a member of that group. Lokhai talked to Reba only in this voyage outside the village. While in the village, they pretended as strangers. Because Lokhai had his family and his wife. Parul did not like Reba just like other villagers. But Lokhai liked Reba since his boyhood. They were good friends. Reba used to play with the group of boys. When Lokhai's father told him that he had to marry Reba, at first he felt embarrassed, how to marry a childhood friend? He could not sleep that night. Plenty of thoughts were distracting him from the sleep. As time passed, he started to feel a strong attraction towards Reba. He started to think her as his perfect soulmate.

When Lokhai came to know that Reba's father died and his father selected Parul as his bride, he became reluctant but he had to marry Parul to obey his father's decision. Parul was physically and mentally sick. Her behaviour was mean. She misdoubted that Lokhai was in extramarital, illicit relationships with a number of women in their village. Lokhai's life became a living hell. He was suffering the consequence of his father's greed.

Parul heard a rumour that Reba tried to seduce her husband in the jungle. One day she met Reba in their village 'haat'(village market for once in a week). She started shouting on Reba's face ignoring the crowd of the market. With plenty of poisonous words she attacked Reba, " You pervert! Don't even try to penetrate my husband. Otherwise I will kill you. I will cut you into pieces and feed the dogs. You shameless widow! Go and kill yourself, so that the villagers can live in peace."

Reba didn't replied. She stood there, calmly listened all the shits. When Parul paused out of breath, she smiled and silently walked away. People, who were enjoying the drama, was disheartened by this 'sudden end'. They sprayed away again in the market in their own business. But Parul stood there speechless. She failed to hurt Reba. Instead of replying her, Reba smiled on her face. This silent insult was beyond her digestion capability. She wanted to attack Reba physically. But she had not gut to do so. Because Reba's physical strength was not unknown to her. Surely she would lose the game and that would be shameful for her in the middle of the market.

That night Lokhai was lying on his boat. The moonlight changed the river into silver stream of fairy tale. The jungle of the remote island of Sundarban looked like reign of death in the darkness. The stars were twinkling on the September sky. The fireflies were busy to copy them in the riverside bushes. The fragrance of wild flowers, the chirping of crickets, occasional melody of some nocturnal birds, the rustling sound of waves, gentle cool breeze from river were easing him. Parul was worst to him that evening. Ignoring the mosquitoes Lokhai closed his eyes. Probably he was sleeping. A gentle touch on forehead woke him up. At first he could not determine who was that. After a while he felt Reba sitting on the boat. Quickly he moved in a comfortable distance and carefully looked around. Then asked in a worried voice, "Why are you here at this time? If anybody see us then?"

"Let them see!" Reba replied in a gentle and calm voice.

"Have you any idea of the consequence?"

"Yes! I have a clear idea about it. But I am not afraid."

"But I am. We have to live in society. If anybody see us here together, you will be in greater danger than me. You are woman. The villagers will point at you all the arrows they have."

In an amusing tone Reba replied, "So you want to say that, they have some arrows left to target me?" She smiled.

"Don't smile silly. Try to understand what I am saying." Lokhai was serious.

"Ok! Now take the food. I heard you left home without having meal." Reba handed him a packet of food and a bottle of water.

"Take it with you. I don't need it." He reused the packet like a stubborn teenager.

Reba didn't reply. Silently she placed the food beside him and left the place.

Gradually they started to meet outside the village in the darkness of night. Lokhai liked her company. He had to tolerate Parul for the sake of family and society. Parul was a mentally sick woman. She hated everybody except herself. Probably her complex physical sickness leaded her to cruelty. She used to satisfy her desires by abusing others verbally. Lokhai was her prime victim. So the family life was a living hell to Lokhai. He found peace with Reba.

In their next mission the woodcutter team went to the core area of the reserved forest without any permission of forest department. They were habituated in this illegal trespassing. When they reached there, it was afternoon. The lower portion of the islands were under the salt water of up tide. Only the upper portion of the mangrove forest was visible above the water level. They stopped the boats in the middle of the river between two islands. They had to spend night there. Reba took shelter in Lokhai's boat.

In that type of situations at least one person of each boat has to watch over to both side jungle and on the water. Otherwise minimum one person's death is sure.

Among eight persons in their boat, Lokhai was selected to watch over the first half of the night. He was sitting on the bow of the boat. Reba came and sat beside him. Lokhai took a deep breath and said, "Go to sleep inside. We are not alone here."

"We have not done anything wrong." Reba whispered into his ears then smiled.

"Is not our relationship wrong? You and me, both are married. I have a family still now, you ought to follow some social rules."

Reba placed her head on Lokhai's lap. Then replied in a soft tone, "Social rules? There are plenty of social rules for the widow women. But when a man loses his wife, society has no rule for him to follow. I don't care about so called society."

"I know that!" Lokhai gently touched Reba's forehead. "But you should care about God and his rules."

"God has no rule for me."

"God's rules are good for us."

"Not for me. God has arranged for me only sufferings throughout my life. I lost my mother at the time of birth. At my sixteenth my father gone. You are my first love, but you went away from me"........ Reba wept after so long time. She could no more control on her emotions which were repressed deep inside since her father died. She was a strong hearted woman. She used to hide her feelings from other person. But Lokhai was not just an 'other person'.

"But it was not my fault. I had nothing to do." Lokhai replied wiping tears from her cheeks.

"I know that. Just think about my sufferings. A man in my uncle's village married me. He had genuine love for me. I also liked him, but couldn't replace him with you in the deep of my heart. One night he was killed by tiger. Now I am widow at my 21. The villagers prank me because I go to the jungle with a group of male companions to collect honey. But what can I do? I can't fast myself to hold an image of holiness as they wish. I am not born to impress them. I have left nobody who care about me. I have to protect myself."

"But God............"

"God gave me the body and desires to stay alive. Society has created some rules to bury those desires because I am widow. Now you are suggesting me to stay alive eating those rules?"

Lokhai had no answer. In the bright moonlight the tears were glistening on Reba's cheek. He swept those with his fingers. They both were silent.

Suddenly they felt a huge jerking in the boat. They turned behind to see what was happening. Death was standing there in its wet striped body. Within a second Lokhai's neck was inside the jaws of that devil. At first Reba was spell-bounded. But when the rest six members in their boat started shouting, she saw the devil jumped into the water with Lokhai's motionless body. Reba took a cutter from the boat and jumped into the river without thinking about it. Other members of their group were shouting to stop her. She heard nothing. She was following the last shelter of her life. She will never forgive 'God'.

The team members did not dare to go to the jungle at the night to rescue them. It is the reign of death. 

Next morning they went down in the islands and searched for them. But, neither they, nor their remain was found. They were not eager to enter into the dense forest. Because it is another name of suicide. They had to live and struggle against their poverty. So they arranged a prayer for their soul and went to another island to collect honey.

It is a common incident in the life in Sundarban.
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