Dipu had got quite a catch today. As his bony frame struggled to put all the fish in a big basket for sale, they gasped for their final breaths, writhing in pain. He felt a tinge of sympathy even if he couldn’t afford to. Circumstances were no different for him. He was snapped out of his reverie by the sight of a huge tourist boat passing by his rickety one. Loud music accompanied the smell of delicacies wafting out of the deck. This was a common sight on the murky waters of Sunderbans nowadays. People coming from around the world, indulge in revelry, lock their memories in selfies and leave when bored by the lack of telephone network and internet connectivity, never to look back again. The native villagers are left to fend for themselves, benefitting scarcely from the tourism business they place their entire lives and hopes on.
Suddenly the launch steered towards the fishing boat, slowing down. A man leaned over and called out to him, “How much for your entire catch?” Dipu was taken aback for a moment and stammered out, “It won’t be less than a thousand babu…” He didn’t know for sure as he never had the chance to find out the actual market price. It was always the middlemen who took his fish and sold it, giving him just about a fistful of what they earned. He was scared of being thrashed if he dared to enter into a transaction all by himself. But the man on the boat was thoroughly amused. “All of that in your boat for just a thousand! Come on kid, you’re not serious. We’ll give you a thousand more but we want them all,” he said. Dipu was stupefied into silence. He was about to earn more than he had ever done in a lifetime in just one day.
He prepared to shift his entire catch on to the launch which now stood right beside, touching his boat ever so slightly. The aroma of delicious food seemed stronger than before. Dipu was having a hard time concentrating on the situation at hand when all he could think of was, what it would feel like to have a taste of the delectable fare on board. Now that he was getting a lot of money, he would surely take his sister and widowed mother to town just for a day and treat them to a sumptuous lunch. It’s been long since either of them had a proper meal. After he returned every night, they would say that they had kept for him only what remained after they had eaten to their fill but he knew they were lying. Just as he knew that his family and their dilapidated hut were not safe anymore.
Their hut was located at a strategic position in Pakhiralaya. Both the Gosaba Island with all the markets and the Sajnekhali Island with the popular wildlife sanctuary were easily accessible from there by the waterway. Many corporate bigwigs were eyeing that spot to set up a resort, so the panchayat goons were breathing down his neck. Dipu had often been exasperated at the thought of having to keep running away from them, especially fearing for the safety of his dependants. But a voice within him questioned, why should he give up the land? Rehabilitation wasn’t being offered for free. He would have to cough up a lump sum for that. Earning that would wring all the life out of him and even that would probably not be enough. Despite making up his mind, occasionally he was compelled to consider deserting the place, running away and starting afresh elsewhere with his mother and sister because often as he dozed off waiting for the fish to take the bait, he was haunted by visions of being driven out of his own home or even worse, his family being assaulted by the merciless thugs. But right now he was overcome with gratitude as the Heavens seemed to have answered his prayers. If he could keep earning this way for just a few more days, he would have enough money to pay for the rehabilitation package. For that he would need to know how long this batch of babus will be staying here, he would do all in his power to keep them happy and well-fed.
After he had transferred his basket to the launch, Dipu looked expectantly as the man took out his wallet while his companions were involved in a heated discussion as to whether they would have fish fry or ‘machher kalia’. Paying him the hefty sum the man said, “Do you know anyone who could get some crabs for us?” Without pausing to think Dipu replied, “I can do it!” The man smirked and said, “That’s great! But there are many of us here so there should be lots, don’t worry about the payment, you will get more than you can imagine.” Dipu nodded and said, “Alright babu, I will bring many tomorrow morning along with the fish. Stop at the Pakhiralaya ghat before starting the tour for tomorrow, I will be waiting there.” The temptation was too enticing to resist, even if that meant risking his life. For who doesn’t know that the creeks infested with crabs deep inside Sudhanyakhali was home to Dakshin Rai! Crocodiles lurked in those waters and tigers ruled the jungles on either side. At night many would go to collect crabs, hoping for a bigger catch, but few returned. Yet they went, for in the face of poverty, dying at the hands of tigers or crocodiles seemed preferable than withering away on an empty stomach. In case they got killed at least their families would get some compensation from the government. But Dipu was not thinking about all of this. He had only one mission in mind. Crabs were costlier than fish, so if he could get a decent amount of those, all worries would be over soon.
That night Dipu went to sleep early. He had not told his mother or sister about the day’s deals or his plans to go crab-hunting at night, because they would never let him execute those plans. The perils of that mission outweighed the possibility of any gain by far. When he was sure that the others were fast asleep, he slipped out quietly, pulled out the anchor and set out on his boat towards Sudhanyakhali. The future that had seemed bleak even a day ago, now looked brighter. He had to get a good catch in his net now as only that could free him and his family from the net cast by the local gangsters. The high tide seemed rougher than usual with a wild breeze blowing across the jungles as the moon hid behind the clouds.
As Dipu went deeper into the creek, the weather grew more disturbed. His boat was being tossed about dangerously by the river, who seemed angry at his insolence for daring to invade its waters in the dead of the night. Suddenly a gust of wind blew over and he almost fell out of the boat. Tightening his grip on the net he gritted his teeth in determination to catch something in his net before the tempest struck in full force. But fate had other plans. The next bout of breeze was too strong to stand up to. As trees nearly swept the ground, his boat was overturned into the murky waters of Sunderbans with crocodiles aplenty. Clinging onto the boat with one hand and the net with another as he drifted deeper into the narrow creek, the last vision that flitted across his mind before it all went pitch dark, was that of his own fishing net being cast over his house where his family now slept soundly.
Alter Egos 