During my travels in India and Bangladesh, hundreds of kind people shared with me their information, advice, and solace. In particular, I thank Sara Camblin Breault, Kalyan Chakrabarti, Kisor Chaudhuri, Jenny Das, Bonani and Predip Kakkar, Hasna Moudud and her family, Kushal and Diti Mookherjee, P. K. Sen, Pranabesh Sanyal, Anne, Bob, and Belinda Wright, and the management and staff of the Tollygunge Club.
Shankar Mukherjee and Debasish (“Raja”) Nandy deserve special thanks for their translation work, scholarship, and friendship. I am also grateful to Amarendra Nath Mondal for interpreting and explaining the Daksin Ray puja and to Kanchan Muhkerjee for his help and advice. I thank the management and staff of the Sajnekhali Tourist Lodge.
Of course this book could never have been written without the generosity of the people of Sundarbans and the West Bengal Forest Department. In particular, I thank Rathin Banerjee. The West Bengal Forest Department could never find a more dedicated officer, nor I a colleague more thoughtful or thorough. I am especially grateful to Girindra Nath Mridha and his family: amar ma, Mabisaka; amar choto bon, Namita; and Sonaton, Shumitra, Shubadra, Shushitra, Shushoma, Shoroma, Monuds, and Modhusudan. I thank all the Mridhas’ friends and neighbors who shared their stories with me, particularly Phoni Guyan. As much as to preserve the tiger who dominates their world, this book is written in honor of the lives and work of these wise, brave people.
In addition I acknowledge the help of the following individuals and institutions:
Al Lambert, Harold Paretchan, Mary Rabb, and the library staffs of Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology and Antioch/New England Graduate School for locating obscure articles and out-of-print books.
Richard Estes, Peter Jackson, George Schaller, and David Smith for sharing with me their insights and experiences with tigers.
Jaya Bapa Jhala and Syed Hasnath for reading the manuscript and averting heinous errors.
Elizabeth Marshall Thomas for her example.
Gretchen Vogel for prayers and protection.
The Reverend Graham L. N. Ward for spiritual guidance.
C.M. Jha for bureaucratic guidance.
Peg Anderson, the late Peter Davison, and Sarah Jane Freymann for literary guidance.
Dianne Taylor-Snow for laughing at inappropriate moments.
Eleanor Briggs for the beautiful photographs in this book.
Joni Praded and Chelsea Green, for resurrecting and allowing me to revise and update this book.
Finally, I thank my husband, the writer Howard Mansfield, who discovered after my third trip to India that I had no life insurance. Sorry about that.