JOYNAGAR: Tapan Piyada had stared at the jaws of death, quite literally. But he endured it all to tell his survival story.

"I remember the moment vividly. I was prying into a hole with a steel rod to check if it had a crab when a strong foul smell invaded my nostrils. When I looked up, there was an adult tiger standing barely 8-9 feet away. It was staring straight at me and I froze. At that moment, I knew I was looking death in the face. Then survival instinct took over," recounted the 35-year-old resident of Deulabari from a nursing home bed on Tuesday, two days after surviving the deadly attack that has in the past claimed so many lives in the Sunderbans.

It was around 3pm on Sunday that Piyada confronted the tiger. He and nine fellow villagers had set off in a boat in the wee hours of Sunday. They were headed for an expansive sand bank next to Ajmalmari and Benifeli forests that would yield a good crab harvest. After reaching the spot around noon, one of them stayed back on the boat while the remaining split into groups of three and begun hunting crabs.

"I was with the others in our group but had strayed away slightly. I was probing a particular hole when the tiger appeared out of nowhere. It was standing in a light thicket within striking distance. At first, I felt a chill run down my spine. As I shuffled, my feet hit the crab basket and it overturned, releasing all the crabs and they sprinted to safety. Unfortunately, their captor was now facing a predator that could maul and kill in seconds," he said.

Piyada then saw the tiger crouch, as if in fear. It was only seconds later that he would learn that it was an aggressive stance, not a defensive one. The tiger was preparing to pounce. It did when Piyada looked away from the big cat for a split second. "I reached for the iron rod with my right hand. By the time I had grabbed it, the tiger's paws were on my shoulder. I then jabbed the iron rod into the tiger's lower jaw, hoping it would keep it from gnawing me," he recalled.

That action saved Piyada's life. Though the tiger pawed him with ferocity, tearing into the flesh on his back and left as well as right arm, it drew blood but did not inflict a fatal injury.

Boatman Sushil Naiya had witnessed the attack. Stunned into silence for a few seconds, he soon let out a scream that alerted others and they rushed to Piyada's aid. They all converged on the tiger, beating the sticks against the trees to drum up a noise that they hoped would scare off the tiger. As they drew close, the tiger let go of Piyada, retreated a little, roared and then disappeared into the jungle.

Bloodied and badly bruised, Piyada was first rushed to the block hospital in Kultali Jamtala. He was later shifted to a private nursing home in Joynagar. The villagers feared reprisal from forest department officers as they had ventured into the core area to hunt for crabs without permission. Doctors said he was out of danger.

Though Piyada is in pain and will take time to recover, his brave act has catapulted him to the limelight in his village. "Not many would have displayed the grit and courage that Piyada did. He was astonishingly brave in confronting the tiger and taking it head on. We hope he recovers soon. When he returns to the village, he will receive a grand welcome," one of the villagers said.