“Cut” ….. “Retake” were some of the words that became like a nightmare for me two years back. And who else can be responsible for such a situation other than my great friend and soon to be a master cinematographer Mr.Prodipto Mukherjee.
Prodipto was in his final year and was working on a small project of filming flora and fauna of Sunderbans. When I meet him in February at a pub in central Kolkata, he looked distressed. On asking him, he told his film is almost complete but apart from crocodiles there are no footage of reptiles in it and that’s why he needs my help in finding some. Agreeing to his proposal, we made two trips to Sunderbans that year. One in April, when the first rains hit and most snakes are active, the next was in July when monsoon is in full force and there are more chances of finding snakes out in the open and on roads. Now at this point I must say finding snakes in the field is not easy as it sounds, and when there is a film crew standing by, things just get even more difficult.
As time passed by I had to face my directors ever increasing demands. He made me walk the mud roads barefoot wearing nothing but a lungi, release a snake over and over again for the perfect shot. And the worst of all, I was told to lure a fish in front of a checkred keelback water snake until the snake grabs on to it. Now just imagine, with hundreds of mosquitoes tearing my flesh apart I cannot afford to move an inch because I am standing at the edge of the bank, looking down at a snake which is half out of the water, at the same time trying to place a dead fish right infront of it. And after all that when the shot was near complete, Prodipto humbly asked me,“I am really not happy with the lighting, can we do this whole sequence once again tomorrow in total sunlight?” I looked at him, awestruck, and with complete disgust we exchanged some really bitter words. Later that night he apologized to me for being cocky and best of all there was no more plans for a retake.
The sunderban is the largest deltaic region of the world. It extends from India through Bangladesh covering total area of 26,000 square kilometers, the largest single stretch of mangrove vegetation. About two thirds of the Sunderbans falls in Bangladesh. The Indian suderbans measures 9630 square kilometer out of which the reserve forest occupies about 4263 square kilometers. The people and there culture, the unique reverine system and its serine scenic beauty is home to thousands of flora and fauna. When it comes to snakes, Sunderban is no exception. It is home to about 190 species of birds, 35 species of reptiles and 27 species of mammals, out of which some are critically endangered.
Locations:
In first phase (4th -10th April 2010) we decided to go to the remote interiors, but due to heavy rains we changed our plans and did most of the shooting in the outskirts of major towns along the way.
1. Canning
2. Basanti Town
3. Gosaba Town
4. Sajnekhali
Phase two (18th -20nd July 2010) was more a road trip as we tavelled about 140 kilometers in a car through NH 117, looking for snakes. We stoped at various points for refreshments, and also inquired the locals about the herpetofaunal diversity of that area.
The areas where we filmed are
1. Aamtola Haat
2. Diamond Harbour
3. Kakdwip
4. Namkhana
5. Bokkhali
Findings
To increase our chances of finding more number of species in those few days we employed a lot of people, basically kids who would call us on sight of any reptile in exchange for some balloons, toffees or pencils. This technique worked very well in the outskirts of Gosaba town, and soon enough we had a checkrd keelback, a baby monocle cobra, couple of wolf snakes and a good number of frogs. In Canning and Basanti we asked help from a ex-deer poacher who in turn took us to another person, few kilometers away in the outskirts. He was reluctant at first, but on offering some cash he showed us his catch. Three monocle cobras, a rib stricken banded krait, a common krait, some rat snakes, some ornamental snakes and last but not the least a horseshoe crab. We were curious and asked him what does he do with the snakes, as a reply he took out a card from his pocket issued by a well known NGO, fighting for the rights of Snake charmers internationally, famous for their statements like “snakes are domestic animals” and so on, has affiliated this person to catch snakes. He also adds that he is doing some sort of research on snake venom and many pharma companies are eager to buy venom from him. Nevertheless we paid him handsomely and left him to continue his so called research in peace!
We spent two days in Canning and Basanti town and rest in Gosaba coz our stay was free, food was cheap and snakes were plentiful, keeping only the last morning for Sojnekhali, as my director had no plans of paying the department for filming within protected areas. Overall the trip was good, and the findings were great. Now, two years later on the basis of findings from those two trips and the trips I made in the past, I have compiled a checklist of reptiles that will help understand the local hepetofauna of Sunderbans. I have also included authentic records of species made by professionals and amateurs with proper photographic evidence.
Bataguridae & Trionychidae
Batagur baska
Lissemys punctata
Crocodiledae
Crocodulus porosus
Varanidae
Varanus Salvator
Geckkonidae
Hemidactylus brookii
Hemidactylus flaviviridis
Hemidactylus frenatus
Agamidae
Calotes versicolor
Scincidae
Eutrophis carinata
Snakes
Colubridae
Amphiesma stolatum
Xenocrophis piscator
Enhydris enhydris
Ptys mucosa
Aheatulla nasuta
Dendrelaphis tristis
Argyrogena faciolatus
Chrysopelea ornate
Cerberus rynchops
Elepidae
Naja kaouthia
Bungarus caeruleus
Bungarus fasciatus
Enhydrina schistosus
Ophiophagus sp.
Viperidae
Cryptelytrops sp.
Daboia russelii
Please Note: On many occasions I have seen photographic evidence of a species belonging to genus Cryptelytrops occouring on Sajnekhali Island . Unfortunately collecting a specimen for taxonomical studies has so far been impossible because of the protected status of the land it is found in. Also occourence of Python molurus bivittatus remains a subject of investigation as till now I have not come across any photographic evidence indicating the presence of the species in that region. Though I must add, Shahriar Caesar Rahman, an herpetologist working on Bangladesh’s herpetofauna, has documented Burmese pythons in his country’s share of the Sundarbans.
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