Bookmark An unusual narrative of life on the coasts
Sunday, July 3, 2022
  • Circulation
  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
Organiser
  • ‌
  • Bharat
  • World
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Defence
  • Sports
  • Business
  • More
    • RSS in News
    • Special Report
    • Culture
    • Sci & Tech
    • Entertainment
    • Education
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Obituary
SUBSCRIBE
No Result
View All Result
Organiser
  • ‌
  • Bharat
  • World
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Defence
  • Sports
  • Business
  • More
    • RSS in News
    • Special Report
    • Culture
    • Sci & Tech
    • Entertainment
    • Education
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Obituary
No Result
View All Result
Organiser
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Bharat
  • World
  • Editorial
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Culture
  • Defence
  • RSS in News
  • Subscribe
Home General

Bookmark An unusual narrative of life on the coasts

Archive Manager by WEB DESK
Sep 5, 2010, 12:00 am IST
in General
Jeay Sindh Freedom Movement chairman Sohail Abro

Jeay Sindh Freedom Movement chairman Sohail Abro

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterTelegramEmail

THIS is an unusual travelogue with nine essays wherein the author uses the production and conception of fish to provide insights into the culture and ecology of the subcontinent. In a coastline as long and diverse as India’s, fish inhabit the heart of many worlds – food, culture, commerce, sport, history and society.

In the first essay, describing the preparation and process of eating hilsa in Kolkata, the author says that if Bengali “cuisine were Wimbledon, the hilsa would always play on the Centre Court”, as it is the undisputed champion of fish in the east. Poets have written on it with one calling the ilish, as the hilsa is known in Bengali, “the darling of the waters”. Describing the technique of cooking hilsa by shorsha ilish, the author says that the fish is simmered and served in cuts placed in mustard sauce so pungent that “its wallop reaches right into your sinuses.” The sauce is an assembly of grainy mustard and chillies, turmeric and lemon achieving the sort of bright yellow that is otherwise found only in pots of poster paint. He lists Howrah fish market, Kolaghat and Diamond Harbour as the main outlelts for hilsa, which could be either from the Padma river in Bangladesh or the Ganga in Kolkata. While Bangladeshis prize “the plumper fish from the Padma above everything else”, the Ganga hilsa “is still hilsa, but that is really all that can be said for it. West Bengalis, on the other hand, sympathise with their oriental cousins, who cannot appreciate the intense flavour of the Ganga hilsa”.

Hyderabad is famous for its fish treatment imparted to asthmatics and involves the wilful ingestion of a live murrel fingerling that is stuffed to its gills with an unknown medicine. The history of the method of healing as explained by the Bahini Goud family, which keeps its proprietary treatment a closely guarded secret, dates back to 1845 when the life of one Veeranna Goud changed dramatically. His descendants claim Veeranna was blessed by a sage who taught him the art of using this medicine – a lumpy paste in a vivid shade of yellow.

Download Organiser App

Narrating the history of an old Catholic fishing community in Tamil Nadu, the author talks about his meeting with Jacob Aruni, who accidentally discovers the fish ‘podi’, a dried fish powder that is found in every fisherman’s hut in Tamil Nadu. It is eaten with hot steamed rice for a meal and which is not found anywhere else, be it Andhra Pradesh or Kerala.

Describing the fiery cuisine and the singular spirit of Kerala’s toddy shops, the author says that the toddy is called aana mayaki and is taken with kappa-meen, a curry with a bland, steamed lumps of tapioca tempered with coconut and chillies and karimeen, a perfectly shaped pearl spot fish, hollowed out and stuffed with masala and fried crisp.

What he feels about travelling is that it “does nothing better than swinging a wrecking-ball into even your most meagre expectations” and that the real process of discovery works “not by revealing things you know nothing about, but by revealing how wrong you were about what you did know,” and that the rhythms and habits of lives on the coast are “so alike because they have been shaped by the same force of Nature” – the sea.

(Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi – 110 017; www.penguinbooksindia.com)

ShareTweetSendShareSend
Previous News

Thousands of Bajrang Dal activists conduct Budha Amarnath Yatra

Next News

A cuppa and more

Related News

Silence of the Lions

Silence of the Lions

Conversion by Church : Jainism Facing  Existential Threat

Conversion by Church : Jainism Facing Existential Threat

Amravati Beheading: Mastermind Shaikh Irfan sent to police custody till July 7

Amravati Beheading: Mastermind Shaikh Irfan sent to police custody till July 7

All problems of northeast will be solved by 2024, Amit Shah tells BJP meet

All problems of northeast will be solved by 2024, Amit Shah tells BJP meet

Maharashtra: Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis sworn in as Chief Minister, Deputy CM at Raj Bhawan

PM Modi, Shah’s decision to make me CM opened eyes of many: Eknath Shinde in Maharashtra Assembly

PM Modi’s directive to recruit 10 lakh people in 1.5 years will bring new hope and confidence among youth: Amit Shah

Amit Shah slams Opposition for negative politics, targeting Modi in 2002 Gujarat riots case

Comments

The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Organiser. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.

Latest News

Silence of the Lions

Silence of the Lions

Conversion by Church : Jainism Facing  Existential Threat

Conversion by Church : Jainism Facing Existential Threat

Amravati Beheading: Mastermind Shaikh Irfan sent to police custody till July 7

Amravati Beheading: Mastermind Shaikh Irfan sent to police custody till July 7

All problems of northeast will be solved by 2024, Amit Shah tells BJP meet

All problems of northeast will be solved by 2024, Amit Shah tells BJP meet

Maharashtra: Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis sworn in as Chief Minister, Deputy CM at Raj Bhawan

PM Modi, Shah’s decision to make me CM opened eyes of many: Eknath Shinde in Maharashtra Assembly

PM Modi’s directive to recruit 10 lakh people in 1.5 years will bring new hope and confidence among youth: Amit Shah

Amit Shah slams Opposition for negative politics, targeting Modi in 2002 Gujarat riots case

All Above 18 Eligible for Vaccination From May 1, Announces Centre

India’s COVID vaccination coverage exceeds 197.95 cr

BJP’s Rahul Narwekar elected as Maharashtra Assembly Speaker

BJP’s Rahul Narwekar elected as Maharashtra Assembly Speaker

Maharashtra Political Crisis: Maharashtra govt reshuffles portfolios of 9 rebel MLAs of Shinde camp

Maharashtra Assembly session begins to elect Speaker

Maharashtra: Umesh Khole beheaded for sending WhatsApp message in support of Nupur Sharma

Amravati Beheading: Mastermind of Umesh Kolhe murder arrested, total 7 Islamists nabbed so far

  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Cookie Policy
  • Refund and Cancellation
  • Delivery and Shipping Policy

© Bharat Prakashan (Delhi) Limited.
Tech-enabled by Ananthapuri Technologies

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Bharat
  • World
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Defence
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Business
  • RSS in News
  • Special Report
  • Sci & Tech
  • Entertainment
  • Education
  • Books
  • Interviews
  • Travel
  • Health
  • Obituary
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Circulation
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Refund and Cancellation

© Bharat Prakashan (Delhi) Limited.
Tech-enabled by Ananthapuri Technologies