It is told by the aged that those who eat the meat of Iguana generally would not suffer from skin disease. By melting the fat, the hunters bottle it in their house. This oil is preserved for so many days – almost one to two years. They say the primitive oil is much efficacious. If burnt, it works like as elixir in the burning place. It is very much effective in burnt ulcer.
Let me tell an event. That was 1985. I was then an officer of Lodha Cell at  Jhargram. As it was a holiday, I sat on a local meeting place of Gangadhar uncle. Aunt was cooking in the outside oven after returning from the soil digging work. Generally they ate very well. She was cooking a one kilo rohu fish. Five or six persons were in their family. A cauldron full of curry was seething. Generally they ate broth. After completion of cooking when the cauldron was taken into the house in a careful manner, their youngest daughter Rekha (10 years) rushed out through the door from inside. The whole cauldron was top sided over Rekha totally. From neck to lower part it was terribly inflamed. The whole body was uncovered except a small pant. Rekha winced and yelled. She began to cry loudly. Calling everyone I had prepared to go to hospital which was eight km away from that place. All the elders loved me very much. They used to receive my suggestions, listened me. Uncle and Aunt told me, “Babu, don’t be anxious. Look at our medicine, you know this medicine.” Two or three of us felt very worried. From the top the whole body of that girl was burnt. She shouted. But I had seen that, at the direction of uncle, Joydev, Padma, Alaka, Kina, Sachin, Bantu were gathering various things. Unfolding big banana leaves on soil, they reposed the uncovered girl on it; then Aunt and Padma were anointing iguana oil on her whole body. The girl was shouting and yearning. Kinaram, Alka hold her tightly so that the bare parts were anointed. They would never like to take Rekha to hospital. Necessarily sitting beside them I was listening the shout and watching their activities. After an hour the burnt body became swollen with blebs. The girl could no more be recognized. Out of unbearable pain, frequently the girl was becoming unconscious. They had continued the ointments. Some of them went to the altar of God for prayer. My house was near. People were coming and going up to 12 to 1 at midnight. How would I sleep? Yet, with great pain and anxiety I went to sleep at a time. Rushing there at dawn, I found the girl was sleeping. With a smiling face, uncle told me, ‘Look dear son-in-law, Rekha’s pain subsides, and she sleeps. I will make her cure: a thin napkin covered upon the burnt body with besmeared iguana oil; by lifting it, they showed the skin of the whole calcinated body which being blistered had swollen like a frog. Having seen I got scared. After a few days, I saw that the blister being pierced, fester followed out. The same medicine (the iguana oil) was anointing thrice or four times a day. All the pain and suffering had gone. All the skin peeled off as ulcer parched. The whole body was full of red and white spot. I got frightened to see it. The anointment of the same medicine was continued. After two months, the natural skin grew. After a year, I saw the whole thing became natural.
Apprenticeship in Iguana Hunting
Go back to those days of the company of Umesh uncle in childhood. My father stayed in distant villages for jute washing. As he used to do those very years, I my mother and I were at home. Probably I was in six that year and it was Kartik month. For several days, uncle said to me, “Oh! Pagla, will you go for hunting with me?” I said, “Wait uncle, let me ask my mother”. At the evening I asked my mother, “ O, mother, uncle is telling me to go for iguana hunting , shall I go?” In a hesitated manner, mother said, “It is a school time; what is more, you have to walk a long way in jungle. Will you walk in hunger all day? I said, “Mother, I shall go on Sunday; shall eat fermented rice in the morning and you will give some puffed rice, I will do it.” The consent of mother for going to hunting gave me immense pleasure. I shall go for hunting far away with the man like uncle. I shall receive the training of hunting iguana myself. I shall catch myself. I shall eat iguana meat of my own hunting. What a fun!
No hunter would go with food in hunting. As I was a small boy, my mother had given me some puffed rice in my napkin. Eating fermented rice in the morning I went for hunting with uncle. The field was full of paddy plant during Kartik month. These were not short like today; the field was full of long paddy plant then. The paddy plants were inclined upon the earth work. The poison was not applied on paddy in the then time. So, the venomous snakes were often seen in the field.  For hunting I went by walking through the muddy field path for almost seven or eight km from my home. I was walking behind uncle. He was watching the footprints of iguanas in mud beside earthwork. An iguana has four legs and a long (12-25 inch) tail. Having seen the footprints on mud the hunter understood how long ago the prey (iguana or turtle) has gone and to what direction? If understood, it was fresh print that means within 20-30 minutes the prey left the print then the hunter rushed into it. In the words of hunter the impression is called ‘panz’. To search by following the impression is called ‘panzini jawaya’. Having watched this mark a ‘panzini’ rushed into it. The attendant hunter, moving hastily besides the earthwork of field and watching mark and movement of the prey has given the signal to the other hunter. Rushing into the fresh print, the iguana has been caught by searching two, three or four paddy field. As soon as it had been seen, the hunters jumped on its head and caught its neck and tail. If its head has not been forfeited by holding the neck, the iguana could tear the hunter by biting with its sharp and strong teeth. It would be very difficult to make release from it if it bites tightly.
From 11 am to 2 pm Uncle had caught four iguanas from the paddy field of Begunya and Alisgarh and its adjacent shrub. Among them two are big, two small. It would be very difficult to keep iguanas under control if not by bending down their shoulder and leg they had been broken with fist. Uncle did the same after catching each of them. During homecoming after hunting he had bound the small two by enfolding into the napkin of my waist. Taken the big two in the net of his waist uncle had conjugated them in his napkin after binding. It was almost half past four at afternoon to reach home. The weight of the big iguana was more than one kg. The small one was one kg or less to some extent.
By walking such a long distance throughout the day, I got very tired. “But we get the prey. All of us will be through with meat at the evening with great amusement. The efforts of mine have also been added in hunting. Get the training of hunting from uncle; though have not caught a single one on first day. I have given him a company only.’ Recollecting all these I felt great joy in mind. But during return when we reached near our village, a dismay of shame was beginning to entangle me gradually. If my classmates or their family members could see me in this state of conjugating iguana in waist? It seemed to me a matter of great shame if anyone of them would have seen me. A few times was still left to evening. Nobody was seen in bucolic way. Our house was near the field. By crossing three or four houses at the fag end of field I stealthily entered my house. The sense of shame had gone. The fatigue of journey vanished within a second and mind got refreshed.
I had gone for hunting with uncle for two or three more days. During those time, I, myself had caught the iguanas by hunting them. I got scared as it was my first time hunting. Gathering courage I caught them. Uncle, taking the hunted Iguana of mine broke the shoulder and legs of it and kept it in net. Thus the training of hunting had been done to uncle. Uncle said, I was a lucky boy. Hunting was good if I was with him. So uncle wanted to take me with him. Further, being a companion, surely I got sufficient meat, but I could not receive the share of skin value. The rule of the hunters was that the value of the meat and skin would be shared equally among the persons whosoever were there in that hunting group. Even, if dogs went with them, they would have got their share also. They would not have given scrapped meet only. Good meat would also be given to their share. Obviously, they would have been given some small amount of meat in comparison to man.
At the end of Kartik month the Iguanas enter into the guda. That means they have entered into the hole. Entering the hole, they poultice 6 to 8 inch soil cork upon the mouth of the hole with the help of their leg and heads from inside. It is quite impossible to know from outside that there is a hole in that place and there is any snake. In their holes the iguanas sleep during winter. If there is heavy rain during  Jaistha, they come out by breaking the guda.
Insects, the little fishes from ponds, ditches, and rivers full of rain water and eonate of any type are the foods of iguana .Termite are the favourite food of iguana. Towards the fag end of Jaisthya or in Ashar, when there is rain, the termites, coming out of anthills fly in the sky. When this flying insect coming down to soil, in groups, the iguanas eat them by catching together. Then the celebration of catching the termites begins.
Next year i.e. when I was in class eight (year 1964), my attraction for going to hunting has increased. During Jaistha , Ashar , for two or three days with Panruda 'Sadhan da and another two or three days with Kenaram da ; Srikanta da I went to collect honey and to hunt iguana. Honey and hunting had been gained a lot with  both the groups. Going with them, I myself had achieved the technique of catching iguana very well.
In that year, a few new teachers had come to our school. Among them, respected Anangamohan Singha had taught us Mathematics and Science and revered Lakshman Chandra Pradhan had taught us History and English grammar. I was really impressed with their class. Though Lakshman babu is a tough type of teacher, his teaching was dragging me gradually. There were more than hundred students in our class including section A and section B. But it seemed that they knew all of us. Reaching each bench they asked the lesson. They had checked the home task of everyone. The half yearly exam result of the school of that year had become very good. For teaching technique of Anangababu, I began to think that I will take science in class nine. Then I was taking coaching in Anil da’s house, of course free of cost. I understood that if the teacher had taught carefully and the students of the class had listened them attentively, the home task had become very easy. My success has begun to come in that way.
Most of the teachers of those days were of very high merit. They were student friendly as well as they did not hesitate to inhibit the knavery of the undisciplined and inattentive students with iron hand. For this the students have received cane at their back. Never had I noticed any guardian to come to the school in protest of this. Bengali teacher, Shib Sadhan babu, Headmaster Sarojakha babu remained accolade to me even now. I remember Nilmani babu and Kartik babu of Economics with great respect even today.
Glossary:
Smritilekha- An Autobiography written in Bengali by Prahlad Kumar Bhakta.
Pagla-The nick name of the author. Usually the elders of the author called him by
this name.
Kartik-The seventh month of Bengali Calendar.
Panz- Fresh foot prints of Iguana.
Panzini jawaya- To follow the fresh foot prints of Iguana during hunting.
Panzini- The hunters who follow the fresh foot print of Iguana.
Jaistha-The second month of Bengali Calendar.
Ashar-The third month of Bengali Calendar.
Guda- Bead; a hiding place for Iguana during hibernation period.

Translated into English by Shovan Maity.