By Debojyoti Das
I am currently in the Sundarbans, investigating local experiences of environmental change.
The sketches below were made by Mr Mukondo Gyan who is a poet, freelance insurance agent and writer from Doyapur village. His writings have appeared in the local Bengali press, and his poems are also published. These sketches were made in 2011 with toothbrushes and colours that he collected from the neighbouring forest. The sketches depict the destruction and the very nature of the cyclone that brought immense misery to the settlements in Doyapur. The area’s agricultural fields are barren and mostly saline. The production of rice, potato, cereals and chilies have declined after the cyclone. Although the tourism industry is booming on the island, it has brought new social and environmental problems.
