Biru Sardar and the tiger

In the Sundarbans, the so-called land of tides and tigers, people's livelihood revolves around the forest, water and narrow creeks. Stories of human encounters with tigers abound. After a day's work, when people meet at local tea or grocery shops on the islands, tiger stories often figure in their otherwise mundane conversations. The most interesting story that I heard during my fieldwork in Kusumpur was how an adivasi Sardar once killed a tiger. I heard the story for the first time as it was told by a few villagers, who happened also to be the workers of a local voluntary organization (Sangathan), when one evening they congregated at the tea stall next to the organization's office. The workers were sharing tiger stories amongst themselves: stories of tigers killing people and instances when people escaped death at the fangs of the tiger. Suddenly Ratan, a worker of the Sangathan, said, ‘But nothing beats the story of Biru Sardar’. ‘There you are’, everyone present in the stall instantaneously agreed with him. Turning to me, Prafulla, another worker of the Sangathan, said, ‘You might like to hear this story, as you seemed interested in knowing about the adivasis in Sardarpara [locality where Sardars live]’. Then Prafulla and the others asked Ratan to narrate the story. Ratan happened to be the first narrator but later I heard the same story from other villagers who had all heard it from their fathers and grandfathers. According to the villagers, the incident happened when Kusumpur had already become inhabited. The story goes like this: