Bleeding Sunsets Of The Sundarbans: The Persistence Of A Woman

The Sunderbans… Beautiful forests as the name says… The largest mangrove forests of the world home to several endangered species of fauna a tourist’s dream destination stunning landscapes that ignite a painter’s passion…But what of the humans who inhabit this picture-perfect land of tiny islands estuarine streams marshy swamps and lush green fields?Beneath the breathtakingly beautiful sky of myriad colours and the flaming red bleeding sunsets they lead a life of extreme hardship every day a challenge with the fear of attacks by the man-eating tigers the crocodiles that abound the streams and the constant threat of storms and cyclones that can turn their fertile fields into saline swamps in a few minutes wiping out a lifetime’s labour.And the women… second-class humans like everywhere but more so in this rural remote corner treated like beasts of burden hard toil taking a toll of their lives subjected to domestic violence sexual assaults from human predators with rape and murder being common events at the mercy of the rich and powerful…This is the saga of the courage of one such woman—Kalyani orphaned before reaching her teens married before fourteen mother of four widowed in the early thirties extremely poor but uncompromising in her dignity who does not succumb to pressures or favours and brings up her children single-handedly relying only on her own hard labour.This story set in the village of Sajnekhali on the banks of the Matla River could be the story of so many who live under the bleeding skies with bleeding hearts.