The Hungry Tide

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. The ritual at the shrine is simple, but Nirmal is shocked to hear Arabic mixed in with Bangla. He asks Horen about it, and Horen points him to a book by a Muslim man who once visited the Sundarbans and wrote the prayer. Kusum, Horen, Fokir, and Nirmal leave the island.

Piya savors her last night in a real bed—tomorrow, they will depart in the boat. Nilima comes to see Piya in her room. They chat, and Piya offhandedly mentions carrying notes back and forth between her parents when they were fighting. Nilima’s eyes fill with tears, and Piya senses she has “touched on some private grief” (207). Nilima warns Piya to resist Kanai’s romantic advances, and Piya assures her she will.

After his trip to Garjontola, Nilima tells Nirmal that the government is planning to take action against the Morichjhapi settlers. They hear rumors of rubber bullets, of accidental deaths. Several of the schoolteachers from Nirmal’s old school decide to travel by boat and intercede, if they can. Near the island, they see dozens of settlers attempting to land on the shore. The boat is soon followed by a police speedboat. Nirmal hears the police tell the settlers to return to where they came from. A shot is fired in the air. The settlers refuse and begin to chant in defiance. The speedboat rams into the little boat, sending the settlers into the water. The water is not deep, and the people wade ashore. The police tell Nirmal and his friends to leave, or risk arrest “for unlawful assembly” (211).

The hospital generator shuts down suddenly, and Kanai goes in search of a lamp. He finds Moyna in his uncle’s study, cleaning. She expresses her concern over Fokir and Piya being on the boat; she is happy Kanai will be there, too. Kanai arrogantly states that if Piya is going to sleep with anyone, it will be him. He asks Moyna whom she would choose, if given the chance. He propositions her, but she refuses, saying she hopes he does sleep with Piya—it will be better for all of them.

Nirmal writes in his journal, “the siege went on for many days” (215). The settlers run out of food rations and begin to starve. There is no water left. A settler escapes and makes it to Calcutta to tell his story, and a court rules that the siege must be lifted. Horen and Nirmal travel to Morichjhapi with “lightness in our hearts” (215). Kusum is thin and worn down, but Fokir is in good health, being able to sneak away to catch crabs. Kusum tells them that the worst part of the siege was the helplessness among the settlers, how little they mattered to the police.

Kanai and Piya go down to the shore to begin their journey. Moyna is there as well, furious that Fokir has chosen to bring Tutul along. She drags her son away, back to the village. They set off, Fokir in his little boat, the rest in the bigger boat. Kanai and Piya discuss the dolphins; Piya explains that there are few left, probably due to some “drastic change in the habitat” (219). She remarks on Fokir’s amazing ability to spot the dolphins, which irks Kanai. She mentions her intention to stay in the area and continue working with Fokir. Kanai turns on her, telling her she and Fokir have nothing in common and she is deluded in thinking they can communicate without words. She frostily ignores him.

Kanai approaches Horen and shows him Nirmal’s notebook. Horen reveals that he was the one who had had it for all these years, wrapped up and forgotten about in his house. When it resurfaced, Horen had Moyna discreetly place it in Nirmal’s old study.

After some hours, the big boat’s engine gives out, leaving them all stranded. Horen proposes floating to a nearby village and getting repairs made there. At twilight, everyone is startled by a “frantic, pain-filled lowing” (225). It turns out to be a water buffalo giving birth. Everyone goes to bed but Kanai—he intends to finish reading his uncle’s journal.

In the journal, Nirmal returns home to a furious Nilima. She accuses him of not only lying to her, but of having an affair with Kusum. He of course denies this. Weeks pass. One day, he hears Nilima speaking to a local doctor. She is afraid for Nirmal’s health. She knows that the government is planning to evict the settlers, and wonders how Nirmal will take it when this occurs. She asks the doctor to help her sedate Nirmal so he doesn’t do anything stupid. He immediately runs to Horen and tells him of the impending attack. They set off to bring Kusum and Fokir to safety. At Morichjhapi, they try to persuade Kusum to leave, but “she paid no heed” (228). She agrees to let Fokir go, and gives him to Horen. Nirmal decides he will stay with Kusum. “I have to stay,” he says, “because there’s something I must write” (229). He speaks directly to Kanai, now, telling him that the journal is for him. Maybe he “will know what to do with it” (229). The journal ends there.

Shaken, Kanai confronts Horen about what happened next. Horen wasn’t there—he took Fokir off the island at daybreak. Horen says that the police stormed the island, killed the settlers, and set fire to the fields. Kusum, he believes, was one of the women raped, killed, and thrown into the river. The surviving settlers, Nirmal among them, were shipped back to where they’d come from. Nirmal eventually found his way back to Lusibari and died several months later. Kanai asks if Nirmal was in love with Kusum. Horen refuses to answer.