A tiger suddenly appeared out of nowhere. At that moment, an axe was Kawsar’s last hope.

A tiger ate a man!

Kawsar Gain is from Golkhali village in Koyra upazila of Khulna, right on the edge of the Sundarbans. If you’re born in a village like this, your life naturally becomes tied to the forest. Some people make a living by fishing, some by catching crabs, and when the season comes, others go deep into the forest to collect honey.

Kawsar is no different. Sometimes he works as a fisherman, sometimes as a crab catcher, and sometimes as a honey collector. Out of sheer necessity, his life has taken many paths—but all of them lead back to the Sundarbans.

It was in this same forest that Kawsar lost his older brother, Amed Ali Gain.

Amed was fishing along the riverbank, pulling in a net. Suddenly, a tiger sprang out of the forest. In an instant, it pinned him down along with the net and dragged him straight into the dense jungle. He was gone in seconds.

Kawsar was a little ways off. By the time he got there, it was already over. The tiger had eaten parts of the body, but the rest was still intact. Kawsar Gain carried his older brother’s body home on his own shoulders.

On Saturday afternoon, we spoke with Kawsar Gain while sitting on a boat tied up along a sandbar on the Arpangashia River, near the Sundarbans. Inside the boat, fishing nets, pots and pans, and dry food were being packed in a rush. The boat was set to leave for the Sundarbans with the evening tide. In between the work, Kawsar began talking—about life, about making a living, and about the terrifying memories of coming face to face with tigers.

Kawsar Gain, now over sixty, said, “If you stay home because you’re scared of tigers, your stomach won’t survive. I don’t own a single piece of land. We have to depend on the Sundarbans for fish, crabs, and honey to run our households. I’ve been going in and out of the forest for about 35 years now. I’ve seen tigers four times. Most of the time, they were far away. But about seven years ago, I came face to face with one.”

As he recalled that day, Kawsar said there were eight honey collectors in the group. They had gone deep into the forest to collect honey. Walking through the forest looking for beehives is called “setting the cut” in their language. Everyone was spread out, keeping some distance from one another. Right next to Kawsar was a thick patch of hental trees. Suddenly, a huge tiger leapt out of the bushes with a roar and landed right in front of him.

Kawsar had an axe in his hand. In a split second, he swung it at the tiger. The tiger stepped back with one paw, and the axe fell to the ground. The tiger’s behavior was unusual. Tigers usually attack slowly, silently, from hiding. Kawsar believes the tiger had been lying down in the forest. Surrounded by human movement from all sides, it panicked and jumped straight ahead.

Kawsar Gain says,

“Standing face to face with death, the axe was my only hope. Every time I took a risk, the tiger would move a foot or two closer—then back off a bit. The forest was shaking from its growls and low moaning. It was so close that saliva from its mouth was actually splashing onto my body.”

At one point, the tiger got furious and started clawing the ground with its front paws. Hearing Kawsar scream, his companions realized what was happening and rushed toward him, banging on tree trunks as they came. Sensing the noise and the presence of people, the tiger suddenly leapt backward, then slowly disappeared into the forest.

Kawsar Gain says,

“Only because Allah kept me alive did I make it back from the tiger’s jaws that day. It was a massive male tiger. People say tigers have four eyes—honestly, that day it really felt like it did. The way it narrowed its brows and stared at me with those two savage eyes… I still can’t forget it.”

After finishing the story, Kawsar turns his attention back to his boat. When the tide rises at night, the boat will head toward the Sundarbans. This time, he’s going fishing. Carrying the fear of tigers and the memory of death with him, once again he sets off toward the Sundarbans.