The Song Of The Sundari Tree

We were born in the long-forgotten days of Yore Way before any human had ever walked this shore We are the children of the boundless sea, The unique and lovely mangrove forests of Sundari.   It is in the Tide Country’s mud that we dwell All around us countless rivers swell We dance to the daily rhythms of ebb and flow We hold the land through tides high and low. In those days the forests teemed with life Jungle’s law prevailed without strife In rivers, fish, crabs and dolphins would play Tiger roars were heard any time of day. Then one day the humans came to find These lands had much to keep their pockets lined So Sunderbans became the property Of the esteemed East India Company. So people rushed in here like seafoam And thousands came to call the islands home Along the rivers bunds and huts were built Civilisations blossomed from the silt. The forests that were the tiger’s territory Were harvested for rich timber and honey Fish found themselves in the Fisherman’s net Who caught th...