Mother recalls tragedy of losing son in Sundarbans
Mangala Pradhan will never forget the morning she lost her one-year-old son.
It was 16 years ago, in the unforgiving Sundarbans - a vast, harsh delta of 100 islands in India's West Bengal state. Her son Ajit, just beginning to walk, was full of life: frisky, restless, and curious about the world.
That morning, like so many others, the family was busy with their daily chores. Mangala had fed Ajit breakfast and taken him to the kitchen as she cooked. Her husband was out buying vegetables, and her ailing mother-in-law rested in another room.
But little Ajit, always eager to explore, slipped away unnoticed. Mangala shouted for her mother-in-law to watch him, but there was no reply. Minutes later, when she realised how quiet it had become, panic set in.
"Where is my boy? Has anyone seen my boy?" she screamed. Neighbours rushed in to help.
Desperation quickly turned to heartbreak when her brother-in-law found Ajit's tiny body floating in the pond in the courtyard outside their ramshackle home. The little boy had wandered out and slipped into the water - a moment of innocence turned into unthinkable tragedy.
