Ras Mela: The way the ancient festival of the deep Sundarbans came about

Growing up in the foothills of the Sundarbans. The Bhola River flows on the west side of this area. Once that is over, the Sundarbans is home to the Royal Bengal Tiger. Baleshwar river on the east side; The Bay of Bengal can be seen by driving a trawler for an hour and a half. As a child, the tigers of the forest would occasionally cross the Bhola River and attack people; Nirupaya people used to kill those tigers by mass washing. Back then, wildlife conservation was not as effective as it is today.'

fig: Collected

Again, many fishermen could sail in the Baleshwar river and fish in the habitat of those tigers at the risk of their lives. Of course, the tiger is the king of the tiger kingdom. The tigers would snatch the lives of many prisoners by getting there. Many would come back and fight with the tigers. Yet this journey of livelihood does not seem to stop; Although the accident rate has come down a bit, fishermen still go to the deep Sundarbans in search of fish. But in earlier days the rules were less; Or there was laxity in law enforcement. For example, in those days one of the businesses of the people of this region was to sell the beautiful wood of the forest on the black market. It was pretty much an open secret. In other words, even though it was forbidden, everyone used to do this illegal work freely.

These illegal timbers were sold freely in different markets of the country including Swarupkathi in Pirojpur which is famous for timber. In those days it was a symbol of nobility to be able to build houses or furniture with this wood. But now that day is no more. At present, the sale and purchase of beautiful wood are almost zero. The implementation of the law has brought these benefits to the Sundarbans. Not just wood; These restrictions have also been imposed on honey collection or fishing. In earlier days, honey or fish like wood could be collected freely from the interior of the Sundarbans. Although there were detailed laws and policies in this regard. But the day has changed. Now only fishermen and mouals can enter the Sundarbans subject to the payment of rent at the time fixed by the government.

This rule now applies to other economic issues related to the Sundarbans. As in the past, if anyone wanted to go for a walk in the deep Sundarbans like Hiran Point or the deep forest like Dublar Char, they would go for a walk in a regional trawler. Now that day is no more; Only government-approved tourist launches can penetrate deep into the Sundarbans; Which is very expensive (10 to 15 thousand rupees per person). The exception, however, occurs at a specific time each month – he’s coming to the discussion later.

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Nowatthistimeoftheyear,duringtheRasMela,onecaneasilyenterintheSundarbans.YoucangotoDublarCharbyaddingtrawlersbypayingrenttothegovernmentatafixedrate.onecantraveltowardsthischarfromdifferentpointsofKhulna, Bagerhat, and Satkhira.Onthisoneoccasion, Dublar Char becomes the locality of the festival, but it is also the living diary of the cruel life of thousands of people in the deep forest!  

Written By, Fabiha Bushra 

Information Collected  

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