An encounter with a royal Bengal tiger

By Buddhadev Nandi
My grandfather breathed his last as a late nonagenarian. Never did I happen to see him confined to bed due to illness. He was an M.A in English from Calcutta University. He taught in a high school in the Sundarbans region for four decades. He wrote a number of English grammar and composition books for high school students.
My grandfather was a perfect blend of intelligence and courage.After his retirement much of his time would be spent in reading and fishing. Very often than not, he with a crew of fishermen would sail through narrow creeks in the Sundarban mangrove forests filled with bounty of fish including bhetki, tangra, chital, falui, tiger crab etc. During the high tide they ventured out riding on the fishing boats and laid the nets and waited for the water to recede. Once the low tide started fish and crabs got entangled in the nets.
My grandfather would relate many exciting incidents that he had faced during his fishing expedition in the Sundarbans. The most exciting incident that he would very often recount was his face to face encounter with a Royal Bengal Tiger. Though he had seen pug marks of tigers on the slushy banks of the rivers and the creeks several times, never did he see a tiger roaming into forest or swimming across rivers before.
It was the dusk of a hot summer day. He along with his three friends was returning after fishing. They were crossing a causeway raised over a swamp full of muddy water flanked by mangroves. When the team led by my grandfather got to the middle of the causeway, they heard a thunderous roar followed by a huge tiger emerging from a bush. It jumped and settled on the frail causeway made of bamboo poles. The weight of the tiger made the causeway lurching terribly as if it was going to cave in.

They all were extremely scared. However, the tiger was sauntering towards them. All of a sudden, the big cat jumped over my grandfather and knocked him down on the causeway. My grandfather, who was well-acquainted with the big cat’s psychology, did not lose courage and stared at the burning eyes of the animal. Both were growling; one in anger and another in fear. Three other people were shouting at the tiger at the top of their voice. The sharp nails of the paws of the tiger stabbed the chest, hands and the feet of my grandfather. Hot blood was flowing. My grandfather was certain that he was going to be the fodder of the fierce animal.
But to the utter astonishment of them, the tiger jumped down the swamp and disappeared into the forest like lightning. Later my grandfather was rescued by his friends and treated in Calcutta Medical College for months. After finishing the story he would every time put off his vest and tuck up the dhoti above his knees to show the scratches of wounds as evidence.