A story in a regional Language of Sundarban language “ LETAI PATNIR KHYA” ( Ferry service of Nitai the Boat Man ) - Translated by Shruti Bhattacharyya

The triple opening of a river – there is a village on the one side of it and Uttarpara1 village on the other side. There lived a boatman named 
Nimai Gine, popular as Nimai boatman at Gherpara2 of Kachukhali3 at Uttarpar. The village people cross the river by his boat. He takes boiled rice in steeped water in the early morning. Now he nods with slumber in his boat. Hearing the call of the passengers from the south bank he 
removes his inertia and comes down with the oar in his hand. He calls the passengers to start the boat.
         – Who will cross the river? Come down.
    Wait. I am coming down the river-fishery. Hearing the noise of the passengers he sets the boat-hook.
    A man is seen pushing the mud and coming. He is coming through salty mud, shulo4 of Garan5, Gemo6, Bine7 trees and paddy grass. The man reaches there. Sitting at the kole darja8 of the boat the man cleans his feet with the salty water of the river. Nimai starts the boat. He says,
    - The passengers of Uttardanga call the boatman to cross the river. I must follow the rule. This is a boat of the river Vidyadhari of the triple opening of the rivers. I shall go to Mollakhali first, then Uttardanga, then Kachukhali. Hisne9 is set in the boat. Will you please drive the oar for a while? I need to pull the gora boote with my hands and legs in the flow-tide. Sitting on the boat the man drives the oar. The man tells him, 
       -- It was a boat of Nitai Patni. Where did he go?  When did you call the tender for the boat?
         Nimai replied him.,
           – Yes, it has been a boat of Nitai Patni for a long time. I feel so sad to think of the old man.    He did not stop boating even at his old age. He drove the boat so slowly. He was so popular among the passengers. They called his boat as a virtuous boat and Nitai as a virtuous boatman. The bunk10, gochha11, kole darja — every part of the boat was broken. The man drove the boat by doing patch-work with the mud. Passengers 
reproached him. Still he never stopped boating as he was the descendant of Iswari Patni, a great boatman. Then came the cyclone, the Aila12-the destructive storms. The river became furious. The dam in our Kulni13 locality was demolished. The houses of that area were plunged in water. Nitai tried hard to find his boat that night but he could not. Getting 
despondent he left his home. No one could find him. One day Asu master of Mollakhali told –
      Nimai Gine, you are in great distress. Our school is at Hetalbari14 on the other side of the river. You can take the passengers in the boat of Dhona Kery and make them cross the river.   
     --Nimai replied him,
            – How can I do that? I am not a boatman by birth. I drive the boat nowadays as I am in great distress. My forefathers destroyed the forest and settled here. The desolate forest turned into a fertile village. How can I leave the plough? People will reproach me if I do this mean job of driving a boat forever.
    Asu Master tried to convince him – 
              -No, people do not follow the caste division in the present days. Anyone can choose any job according to their need and skill. As you know the brahmin people open shoe-shops at the market of Mollakhali. Jhuro Raptan’s son, Pagal Raptan eloped Nuno barber’s daughter Kajli. A few days later they returned back to the village and told that they got married in the temple of Kalighat. Do they know how to reach Kalighat? You are in great distress. You had an operation just a few days ago. Your wife is in a relation with other man. How can you bring up your 
children? Since then I have been the boatman of Nitai Patni’s boat. Hearing the pitiful story of Nimai the man gets upset and says to 
himself.
    -Alas! People do not follow the rules of casteism. The man from Pode15 community works as a boatman. The sons of the man from such community will be seen cutting skin of cows with a knife one day.
    The boat reaches Mollakhali slowly in the ebb-tide. The man pays the ferry-charge and gets down from the boat. There is no one to help such struggling people in this land of forest and salty river. They cry ceaselessly and silently from morning to evening; from birth to death. 

 
Word-Note:-
Uttarpara- Name of a place in Sundarban.
Gherpara- Surrounded by embankment.
Kachukhalil- Name of a place in Sundarban.
Shulo- Respiratory roots or pneumatophores of mangrove trees.
Garan Trees- Mangrove (Halophytic) trees found in Sundarban area.
Gemo Trees- Mangrove (Halophytic) trees found in Sundarban area.
Bine Trees- Mangrove (Halophytic) trees found in Sundarban area.
Kole darja- A kind of plank placed crosswise inside the boat to make it durable.
Hisne- An equipment of a paddle for rowing a boat.
Bunk- A part of a boat
Gochha- A part of a boa.
Aila- Tropical storm Aila struck southern Bangladesh and eastern India on May 27, 2009.and mudslides killed many people and left many more homeless.
Kulni- Surname of some local people in sundarban region.
Hetalbari- An area of chhoto mollakhali.
Pode- Poundra community