Page 12 - Sealink September 2020
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them and had the experience of this                        surprise  we  saw  the  blood  stains
    profession.  They  collected  honey                        near the a  of the boat and some

    and wood and late in the a ernoon                          boatmen followed the trail with the
    we  came  back  and  had  our  lunch.                      flame in hand and a er a hundred

    A er lunch it was a short nap  me                          metres  deep  into  the  jungle,  the

    and  the  usual  the  sentry  was  on.                     body of one boatman lay in pieces.
    A er sunset, the jungle became like                        The  boatmen  collected  the  body

    a crema on ground and the oil lamp                         parts  and  crema on  was  done  in
    was  lit  and  to  break  the  haunted                     the forest and the wave of despair

    silence  the  boatmen  commenced                           and  fear  enveloped  our  mind.  Can

    their  folk  songs  session  with  the                     you  imagine,  the  silent  a ack  by
    Hubble bubble in the merry go round                        man  ea ng   gers  of  sunderbans;

    pa ern. The session gave us energy                         the  guile  and  ferociousness,  the

    and drove the fear of the ghostly air.                     stealth  and  the  clandes ne
    Night  sentry  at  an  interval  of  two                   movement?.  In  the  midst  of  the

    hours  in  pairs  in  posi on  forward                     dance  and  music  session  the   ger

    and a  of the boat was in force while                      was watching curiously for the right
    the  session  was  going  on.  It  was                      me to a ack, and when the dance

    pitch dark as the rivulet was arched                       session  commenced,  there  was
    by the sundari trees and the sky was                       distrac on  and  this  opportunity

    invisible.   The music session was in                      gave the  ger to prowl on it's  prey.

    full swing and out of ecstasy some                         This strange opera on by the  ger
    boatmen  began  to  dance  in  the                         took my mind in sway and my blood

    tradi onal folk dance of Bengal. This                      became  cold,  but  I  withstood  this
    situa on was the  me of the mishap                         situa on  by  concentra ng  on  my

    that took place a er we finished the                        spiritual  teacher  and  regained  the

    count  of  heads  before  dinner.  We                      energy  to  drive  away  all  fear  and
    were  twenty  seven  members  and                          despair.  But  the  sad  incident

    the  count  became  twenty  six.  We                       stamped my mind and we all prayed

    could  not  believe  this,  so  we                         for  the  departed  soul  to  rest  in
    repeated the count and it was the                          peace.

    same,  one  member  was  missing.

    Then  the  search  began,  and  in
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