Sundarbans, 1966. A bawali (lumberjack) was cutting branches, unaware that a man-eating tiger was watching. As he reached for the third branch, the predator struck, dragging him into the jungle.
His companions, initially frozen in fear, soon gathered courage, chasing after the tiger with choppers. They found the body, but the man was already gone.
That night, the tiger attacked again, snatching another bawali from a boat. With more victims following, the Forest Department called for a hunt.
A gunin (exorciser) tried to contain the beast, but fate had other plans — the tiger mauled him the very next day.
Enter Pachabdi Gazi, a legendary hunter from a family of tiger slayers. His father, Meher Gazi, had killed 50 tigers before falling to one himself. With his musket, Pachabdi tracked the man-eater for a week, finally setting up an ambush near a canal.
As the jungle fell silent, monkeys suddenly shrieked — a sign of the tiger’s approach. Pachabdi spotted the beast and took aim. A single shot to the neck brought it down. The tiger moaned, struggling. Pachabdi reloaded and fired again, ending its reign of terror.
The man-eater of Sundarbans, with 23 kills, was finally dead.
This is one of the many tales of Pachabdi Gazi. The tales of Pachabdi are underrepresented in the mainstream literature in Bangladesh.
This February, Bappi Kazi took the initiative to publish a book titled “Sundarbaner Shikari”, which is filled with the adventure tales of Pachabdi Gazi.
The first-person experience of Pachabdi was written down by Humayun Khan. The book will be unveiled on February 15 on Ekushey Boi Mela. The book will be available at Pathak Shamabesh’s stall at the Boi Mela.
Bappi, who took the initiative for the book, told Dhaka Tribune: “We are also planning to translate the book to Hindi and English.”
According to him, the translations of the book will be available from mid-April.
Bappi said: “We are also planning to make it a film. We have also done the script already.”
Upon asking about the reason behind the initiative, Bappi replied: “I want to celebrate the heroes of the country to the world. Pachabdi Gazi is first, and we will continue.”
