Grasshopper Summer Vacation Getaways | Page 22

Cover Story T raveling with kids is not easy. You have to keep in mind the age- appropriate attractions, fuss-free food and enough options for entertainment to keep them occupied. Vacations are just around the corner and we have come up with some great ideas for you to travel with little ones for an experience of their lifetime. SUNDARBANS I think most of you have read Mitali Perkins’ Tiger Boy in which the protagonist Neel’s teacher and parents want him to study hard enough for a scholarship that will take him from Sundarbans to Kolkata. The little boy Neel, on the other hand, loves his home – where he can climb trees, swim in freshwater like a dolphin and pluck fresh fruits from trees. And apart from all this, there is a tiger cub which is missing from reserve and he has to save it from being trafficked by the evil Gupta. He does this with the help of sister Rupa, the duo who know the forest better than anyone. The book takes children to a journey of swampy forests of Sundarbans and gives a vivid picture if wat it’s like to live in a place that is continuously threatened by climate changes. The Tiger Boy is a story of hope, the love of a boy for an animal, the magnificence of tiger and its vulnerability. It is a great opportunity for children live the life of the Tiger Boy and experience in real hat they have read in books. Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest on the planet. The region is a mist-shrouded, swanp region of shifting tides, man-eating tigers, criss-crossed by number of creeks and tributaries and off-the-beaten-track adventure. Even when it is surrounded on three sides by the most densely populated countries in the world – China, India and Bangladesh, yet the country remains remote. The Sundarbans is a UNESCO World Heritage Site is located at 110 km from Kolkata in Parganas district. The Sundarbans are a part of world’s largest delta formed by the mighty river Ganga, Brahmaputra and river Meghna. Sundarbans got its name from mangrove plants known as Sundari. 20 g May, 2019