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Explore StoriesTravel guides, destination secrets, food stories, local culture and practical tips to help you travel better, slower and with more curiosity.
DESTINATIONS
সুন্দরবনে বাহারি পাখির মতো তার রূপ নেই, দুর্লভ পাখির তালিকাতেও তার ঠাঁই মেলে এমন বলা যায় না - তাও সুন্দরবনের জঙ্গল অভিজ্ঞতার এক গুরুত্বপূর্ণ পাখি মদনটাক বা Lesser Adjutant Stork। ব্যক্তিগতভাবে, বছরের নানা সময়ে জঙ্গল ভ্রমণ ও বিভিন্ন দিকের জঙ্গল ভ্রমণ থেকে নানারকম অভিজ্ঞতা হয়েছে, কোনো কোনো অভিযান বন্যপ্রাণ দর্শনে সাফল্য দিয়েছে, আবার কোনো কোনো […]
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FOOD & CULTURE
The history of wearing amulets goes back thousands of years—truly astonishing when one thinks about it. The diverse paths of human belief make this subject a fascinating and challenging field for psycho-archaeological study. Since ancient times, dung beetles have held great value among many human communities, both in India and abroad. Skilled artisans of that […]
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ADVENTURE
সুন্দরবনের বাঘকে নিয়ে আলোচনায় প্রথম যে কয়েকটি বিশেষণ উঠে আসে আলোচনায়, তার অন্যতম তার বুদ্ধি, চাতুর্য্য। শারীরিক বলে তো বটেই, বুদ্ধি ও অনুমান ক্ষমতায় তার জুড়ি মেলা ভার। দীর্ঘদিন মানুষের সাথে সহাবস্থান করে মানুষের ব্যবহার, প্রবণতা নিয়ে তার ধারণা স্বচ্ছ, জঙ্গলে কাজ করা মানুষের তার সম্পর্কে ধারণার সমান না হলেও, কাছাকাছি তো বটেই।আগে একবার লিখেছিলাম […]
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TRAVEL TIPS
Today is Saraswati Puja and also the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Standing at this significant moment, while enjoying the traditional khichuri served as an invitation meal during Saraswati Puja, I was chatting with the cook from Biyen. During that conversation, he mentioned two archaeological objects that were found while digging his pond—about […]
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WEEKEND ESCAPES
বাঘ, বাঘের জঙ্গল ও নারীসুন্দরবনের জঙ্গল লাগোয়া জনপদগুলির বিশ্বাসচক্র মাতৃতান্ত্রিক, বনদেবী-বনবিবি-বিশালাক্ষ্মী তার শীর্ষে। বাঘের জঙ্গল, কুমির কামোটের জলে জীবনমৃত্যু ঘেরা দৈনিক সংগ্রাম মাতৃরূপ আরাধনাকে ঘিরে।অথচ, জঙ্গল সুন্দরবনের এক আশ্চর্য বৈপরীত্য এই যে জঙ্গলে যাওয়া মহিলার সংখ্যা পুরুষ অনুপাতে খুব কম। জঙ্গলের পথ মহিলাদের জন্য অনেকাংশেই রুদ্ধ। তার স্বাভাবিক কারণ একাধিক - জঙ্গলের বেশ কিছু কাজের […]
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DESTINATIONS
(Part One) April, 1997. A little-known village in the Sundarbans named Purkaiter Chak suddenly became the center of attention. While excavating a pond, local residents unearthed a beautifully crafted sculptural image made of smooth black basalt stone bearing an inscription. The sculpture, about two feet high, was visually striking. Its lower portion was shaped like […]
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DESTINATIONS
Once, during the reclamation and settlement of jungle land in Lot No. 23 of Barivhangabad, which was formerly part of the Sundarbans, three Vishnu idols and a bronze ten-armed idol were discovered from the ruins of a royal structure. It is noteworthy that the settlement got the name Barivhangabad from the vast ruined brick building […]
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DESTINATIONS
This was a day of huge, grey sheets of rainclouds that had wrapped Sundarban. In a desolate canal with the dripping woods nearby, our eyes found this pair. The skies were crying and the forest, just a breath away, was bathed in an ethereal shade of green which contrasted the alluring greyness above.Monitor lizards become […]
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DESTINATIONS
Sundarban swampland is often described with interesting epithets and one of these is - it is that unique place where roots grow out of the ground and fish climb trees.Fish climbing trees, a curious phenomenon here, refers to mudksippers.They are amphibious fish, any of the numerous extant species of amphibious fish from the subfamily Oxudercinae […]
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DESTINATIONS
Three archaeological sites have been identified in the tiger-inhabited island region of West Bengal from where, between about 2,200 and 1,700 years ago, golden beads were exported to various ports both within India and abroad. These beads were produced using a unique and sophisticated technique. Archaeologists refer to this type of bead as gold foil. […]
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DESTINATIONS
The ' keora' fruit is a gift of the rains in Sundarban. I find it immensely popular in forest - adjoining Sundarban in the two Parganas as well as all places which carry the legacy of Sundarbani or Aabaadi culture, food and history. Its characteristics and medicinal values have been discussed often. During my stints at […]
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DESTINATIONS
A massive, well-protected naval fortress in the kingdom of tigers? And not from the medieval or modern period—but from very early historical times? Could such a thing really be believable? When I first heard a vague description of it from a boatman in the late 1980s, I dismissed it as nothing more than a tall […]
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DESTINATIONS
The Dog - faced snake (Cerberus rynchops),, is a mildly venomous species belonging to the Homalopsidae family.It is known by a number of names as the New Guinea bockadam, South Asian bockadam, bockadam snake, or dog-faced water snake. It is perfectly suited for the wet, muddy Sundarban habitat. The nostrils of this species are higher […]
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DESTINATIONS
Many years ago, during a sudden and violent storm, a fishing boat carrying an entire family got stranded on a remote island deep within the Sundarbans. Confused and frightened, they ventured further into the forest in search of safety. There they discovered a freshwater pond, a garden, and the massive ruins of a brick structure—which […]
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DESTINATIONS
Across large museums, Heritage Week is being celebrated with exhibitions, discussion sessions, and special publications. There are many announcements and a lot of attention around heritage. In this atmosphere, let us turn our gaze toward a very ancient heritage of the open-air museum that is the Sundarbans—a heritage now standing at the edge of certain […]
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DESTINATIONS
Do you remember the story “Mritypradip” by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay? Emperor Chandragupta I, Queen Kumaradevi, their infant son Samudragupta, King Chandraverma, his courtesan’s daughter the beautiful Somdatta, and the royal companion Chakrayudha Ishaanvarma—an earthen lamp once set the royal residence of Pataliputra ablaze and changed the course of history! Did something similar once happen in a […]
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DESTINATIONS
(Part One) April, 1997. A little-known village in the Sundarbans named Purkaiter Chak suddenly became the center of attention. While excavating a pond, local residents unearthed a beautifully crafted sculptural image made of smooth black basalt stone bearing an inscription. The sculpture, about two feet high, was visually striking. Its lower portion was shaped like […]
Read Story
DESTINATIONS
(Part One) April, 1997. A little-known village in the Sundarbans named Purkaiter Chak suddenly became the center of attention. While excavating a pond, local residents unearthed a beautifully crafted sculptural image made of smooth black basalt stone bearing an inscription. The sculpture, about two feet high, was visually striking. Its lower portion was shaped like […]
Read Story