“We cannot see a Tiger in Sundarban. THIS is the myth that we want to break”, exclaimed an ecstatic Soumyajit Nandy after the Tourism minister of Bengal inaugurated the 3 days photography exhibition of Sundarban Tigers at the ICCR, Kolkata.
Soumyajit and his partners, run a wildlife photography tourism company, GoingWild. They specialize in Sundarbans wildlife and has been highlighted by the MSME department of West Bengal in their reality business show “Egiye Bangla” partnered with IIM Calcutta innovation park and the Bengal Government.
In this exhibition that starts today, 40 enthralling Sundarbans-Tiger photographs are exhibited which show their behavioral traits like spray marking, river crossing, Flehmen’s response, sniffing to name a few. They shot these photographs in the last couple of years; around fifty trips.
“That’s nearly seeing one Tiger every trip!”
“No, but we see tigers every third trip”, smiled Soumyajit. “We should promote our wildlife the way other states do, more digitally” added Tamanud.
This Tiger pose is unique. They do not generally sit like this; when they do, they notice their prey.
“Sundarban tigers are slightly more agile and they can swim long stretches, drinks saline water. Their diet consists of small crabs to big crocodiles. They have man-eating tendencies as well”, Soumyajit tried to frighten me. “I should be careful during the blogging workshop in the Sundarbans then”, I responded.
“They are unique because of their habitat. It’s a mangrove forest with muddy soil, pneumatophores and what not. It’s exciting as well when you see a tiger there. A serious wildlife photography aspirant should spend six days there from sunrise to sunset during low tide times, spend the considerable time in the forest.”
And if someone is an aspiring blogger interested in wildlife, they should attend the blogging workshop on the 29 – 31st December organized by GoingWild partnering with Kolkata Bloggers. Check out the details of the workshop here or you could contact me directly at 9903055542.
For now, come to the exhibition and see the beauty of the Sundarban Tigers shot by Soumyajit Nandy.
“Dokkhinray-er Biswajatra”
ICCR Bengal Art Gallery.
9th – 11th December 2016.
PS:
- For the uninitiated, Dokkhinray is a popular term for Sundarban tigers.
- Be a part of the Blogging workshop by GoingWild partnering with Kolkata Bloggers. Only 2 seats left. Fees per head is Rs. 12000, inclusive of your travel. For more details, you could just call me at +91 9903055542 or Soumyajit Nandy at +91 8017804277.