Pandemic means the death of innumerable people caused by the spread of infectious diseases. It creates an atmosphere of terrible panic in human mind. Often people leave their households and take shelter elsewhere to save their lives. 
I have learnt from elderly people that in earlier times, when someone was infected with cholera or pox in a village, the neighbours would ostracise that vicinity and cut off contacts with the people of the infected area. When news of severe illness or death reached from near-by areas, the people of the neighbourhood even fled elsewhere in fear, and started a new life at the new place.
There was a time when people used herbal medicines for cough, cold, and other terrible diseases and got cured. However, in order to escape from pandemics like cholera or pox, that is, to prevent the emergence of such diseases, the tribal people perform “gaon-puja” (“gram-puja”) or “maay-puja”.
In every tribal village, there is a “maay-than” (altar made of three lumps of clay). Here the “maay-puja” is performed in the Bengali month of Aashar. One black goat and a pair of pigeons are needed for this worship. People of the village collectively perform this puja. Therefore, it is also called “gaon-puja” (“gaon” means village). The “pahan” (tribal priest) performs the “maay—puja”. No Brahmin priest is needed.
The “pahan” crouches before the altar and chants with folded hands: “O cholera, pox and other terrible diseases! Never visit our village. Never shall you spread infections. With that objective, we are sacrificing this black goat.” The “pahan” also prays to Dharmesh (God): “Please keep all people and cattle of our village in peace and happiness. May no ominous glances ever harm us or cause any casualty. With that objective, we are sacrificing this pair of pigeons.”
Following is a list of food-items consumed by tribal people:
1)     rice, roti, millet, fish, milk, honey, eggs and meat. The tribal people consume the meat of duck, chicken, goat, fox, mouse, mongoose, bat, porcupine, owl, rabbit, tortoise, wild-cat, pig, pigeon, falcon etc.
2)     snail, oyster, gugli, kuncho, crab
3)     ‘bothal bhat’ which means rice soaked with water, kept overnight, and eating it with chilli, onion and salt the next day.
4)     several varieties of spinach including kochu-saak, bhathua, gima, nirbasina, helencha, sajne, paat-sak, sunsuniya etc.
Their dietary habits also include 'thor' (the stem of banana plants), 'mocha' (flower of banana plants), fig, tamarind, mushroom, amra, aamsi, 'karil' (small bamboo saplings). 
They also drink hariya (one kind of indigenous wine), wine of mahua trees, juice collected by scraping date and palm trees. They also consume roots like aaru-kanda (one kind of potato), sutni-kanda etc.
The tribal people consume all these food-items. As a result, they not only develop very strong immunity but also the capacity to toil hard. In my view, it is because of their food-habits, diseases like night-blindness, rickets, paralysis, cancer etc. are very rare among them. Even pandemics cannot infect them in large numbers and the death-toll among them is negligible.
Whether tribal or non-tribal, people living in villages -- away from the polluted cities – amidst a natural surrounding full of rivers, ponds, and green vegetation, amidst plenty of sun-shine and pure air, remain largely unscathed and even if diseases appear, they cannot turn into pandemics. Even during the deadly corona pandemic, it has been noticed that compared to congested cities, few people have been infected in remote rural areas, and even those who got infected quickly recovered, and the death-toll is very low.
Most tribal people believe in jhar-fuk and tuk-tak. If people fall ill, the ojha or gunin (exorcist) is called; and amulets (tabij, sarisa etc.) are tied to their hands. If necessary, the ojha accomplishes exorcism. Consequently, according to local reports, the patients recover. Sometimes the ojha charms the entire village with chants, exorcism (jolpora, sorisa pora etc.) to make sure that the  villagers do not fall into danger and diseases, and can escape diseases like cholera or pox.
A few tribal people also yield to superstitions. For instance, it was reported in the second page of the newspaper ‘Uttar Banga Sangbad’ on 02.07.2021 that in the residence of Harekrishna Mondal, in the Guab Nagar gram panchayat under Falakata block, some people organized weddings of banyan trees on 01.07.2021 with a lot of fanfare; a priest named Dilip Moulik presided over the marriage of banyan trees with chants; and vegetarian meal was arranged for the villagers.
Therefore, it is obvious that some sections of the rural people of Bengal still believe in superstitions which are absolutely baseless and unscientific. As we all know, when a disease or pandemic spreads, right treatment has to be done; patients must be given medicines as prescribed by doctors; and patients must be admitted to hospital or health-centre.
Even during corona pandemic, instead of resorting to jhar-fuk, if we wear masks, maintain physical distance, use sanitizers, and consume medicine as prescribed by doctors, and take admission to health-centres, we will definitely be able to overcome corona pandemic.
Translated into English by Amitava Pal.