As India is blessed with a vast variety of wildlife, the authorities have made a number of wildlife sanctuaries in India, spread all over the country. One of the most well-known of all these is Sunderbans National Park in West Bengal, home to most ferocious big cats. Enthusiasts interested in knowing about these mammals, opt for India wildlife tours. This forest stretches itself in West Bengal, India and Bangladesh, rich in agriculture but out of human’s reach. Due to climatic challenges, the tigers here are known to be man-eaters.
There is a legend behind this mighty forest, called the Bon Bibi (the lady of the forest) legend. This story becomes the connection between human beings and nature, which also tells, how important it is to control greediness. Not known outside the Sundarbans but the local theatre companies (Jatra-dol’-s in Bengali) move from village to village enacting it, during the worshiping days of Bon Bibi.
It is true that the manner in which the goddess is worshiped is Hindu but the ritual starts by saying, Bismillah, a Muslim word. According to the legend, Bon Bibi and her brother Shah Jongoli are not from Bengal or from Hindu mythology. They had taken birth to Sufi fakir Ibrahim who lived in Medina, which is the holiest city in Islam. They were set on a godly mission by the Archangel Gabriel so that they can make the land, earlier full of tides, fit for human living. They say, Bon Bibi always dressed like a rural Bengal housewife. Irrespective of religious differences in her origin and dressing, she is worshipped in all sects.
The story says, the demon king, Dokhin Rai always hungry for human flesh, ruled the jungle, and appeared like a tiger himself. After coming to the jungle, Bon Bibi defeats him, finally boundaries got made within within the jungle for human settlement, known as the territory of Bon Bibi and the territory of Dokhin Rai, ruling the wilderness. This treaty gets disrupted when Dhona, a greedy fleet owner enters Rai’s territory to look for treasure in the forest. The demon catches the troop but to get released, Dhona asks to deliver him a boy, named Dukhey, the last one to join him as ransom.
Dhona frees his fleet, giving away Dukhey to be eaten up by Dokhin Rai. As the demon, in the form of a tiger gets ready to pounce on him, Dukhey remembers the advice of his mother which was about calling Bon Bibi and asking her to save him from any kind of a difficulty. He calls the goddess, who arrives within a second, teaching the demon a lesson and throwing him away into his territory. She then takes care of the health of the boy and sends him back to his mother.
If you want to get a feel of the same legend then you must visit Sunderban National Park. As per the legend, it is important that a proper order should be maintained between the nature and humanity so that things take place normally along with restoring faith. Till today, no native enters into the jungle without asking Bon Bibi for her blessing. They still believe that Dokhin Rai in the form of a tiger lives there. The locals also believe that if a man gets killed by a tiger, it might have been his own fault as he might have acted greedily in any manner.
