Raj Sekhar Aich, “Human animal conflict advisor”, for the Sundarban Tiger Widow Welfare Society (Westbengal,
India)
ABSTRACT
There are innumerable undocumented shark (locally called Kamot) bite incidents on the women of Sundarban,
but there is no artistic or cultural portrayal of sharks of the region in any form. This lack of representation
creates lack of knowledge about this conflict — and its effects on the women as well as the sharks. In an effort
to remedy this situation, a unique Ganga Debi puja was held in the Sundarbans, where a shark was created as
her vahana, and with a girl child of the Sundarbans on her lap. This is a narrative documentation of that puja,
it’s reasons and effects, and the day leading up to it.
KEYWORDS
Sundarban sharks; Idol worship; Human-animal conflict; Anthrozoology; Human-shark relations; Multispecies
ethnography
