The Hungry Tide

Piya and Kanai go down to the water to see the research boat. They meet Horen, who remembers Kanai from his childhood time in Lusibari. Piya inspects the “tin toy” boat (196) and is happy to hear that it will only take them so far before she and Fokir will track the dolphins on a smaller boat. Kanai finds his aunt and tells her he will be gone for the next few days. She is worried for him—hundreds of people, she says, are attacked by tigers each year in the Sundarbans. Kanai is shocked by that number. Various solutions to the problem have been tried over the years—masks on the backs of people’s heads to mimic faces, fresh drinking water for the tigers, electric shock fences—but nothing has worked. Nilima correctly guesses that Kanai is doing this all for a chance to sleep with Piya.

Nirmal’s journal. Nirmal remembers more about his experience of Garjontola. When they land on shore, Horen begins praying for protection against the tigers. He then tells Nirmal the rules of the island—nothing can be left behind, not food, not clothing, not even human waste.