Sadistic Sundarbans

Choose your own scare, reader beware!

Totes my goat

Normalcy of everyday life is again interrupted by the grand adventure that is school outings in India. Our heroes venture out of their Kolkata home at 5:45AM on Friday, armed with nothing but a few items of clothing and a wealth of expectations for what the weekend will behold. After an extensive bus ride and a little goat wrangling at frightening village rest stops (read: spidery), they enter the mystical mangrove swamp, the Sundarbans. 

A standard view

They board a boat and feel something they have not experienced for quite some time: freedom. With the wind in their hair and fire in their eyes and hunger in their bellies, they ride for hours around the scenic rivers, surrounded by lush banks of trees on both sides. A wildlife reserve and many monkeys later, the sky turns dark; it is dusk. They dock in a strange area, walking off the boat right into a nearby hotel. Exploring the area, they purchase many chips and cookies from surrounding stands and hop into a local cricket game, and our heroes do not embarrass themselves too terribly. That evening, a horrific idea is birthed: create an Indian themed "Goosebumps" novel. A few members of the troupe work diligently to craft a web of deception and atrocity which is then forced on the rest of the American population. What fun. More information will come when the map is more complete; you too will be able to participate if you dare.

The next day consists of eight hours of boating, wandering through wild life reserves, not watching the hotel's weird performance about a tiger and the gods, and playing Goosebumps/reading narratives on a bed under a mosquito net. This time, Sucharita joined the rest of the assembly. Best study abroad group, period.

That heat you feel? That's the monkey's searing glare.

Something was strange about this weekend, besides the eeriness of peace that comes from forgoing a city for nature. For instance, the skin surrounding Kate's eyes had turned red and dry, threatening to crack at a moments notice. An odd sleeping spell seemed to periodically sweep the group while at sea, putting them at risk of being victims of piracy at any moment. The swamp was pleasantly devoid of mosquitos, though rife with vicious monkeys and sinister crocodiles who sat frozen on the banks or slipped deadly, silently into the water. A stranger asked me for cannabis. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I think there was something in the water.

Thanks for reading! Come again soon!