Sundarbans – Intertidal Echoes

Pratyay Raha, 2025

an 11 minute experience that invites deep listening.

Recommended with headphones and closed eyes in a quiet moment.

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artist statement

This sound piece is a layered composition that weaves together geophysical and biophysical forces shaping life in the delta. Somehow these forces which shape the formation and evolution of the landscape go unnoticed in the cacophony of human-animal-plant-machine tapestry.

The deep conversations between wind and rain, the high and low tides becoming and unbecoming every single day, the river holding deep geological history, the voice of insects and small critters affects the present and the future in myriad dimensions — these are all critical to the health of the landscape.

It is almost impossible to represent or transmit encounters of this mysterious place without thinking of the co-evolution of geophysical and biophysical forces at play. The constant tension evident in the sounds showcase affect in non-representational ways, where the listener and the landscape affect and impact each other in complex ways. The becoming of a place is on a more-than-human sphere, each of the million radius of that sphere has their own stories to tell making up a massive interconnected web of encounters, events, situations.

Pratyay Raha is a Kolkatan sonic arts researcher, currently undertaking creative practice doctoral research at RMIT University, Melbourne. He is interested in ecological transformation, field recording, sound arts, acoustic ecology, soundscape composition and critical sound studies. Pratyay engages with vulnerable landscapes and advocates for their preservation through artistic works.

His 2025 album ‘Sundarbans — Tides and Traces’ is available on Bandcamp.

https://pratyay.bandcamp.com/album/sundarbans-tides-and-traces