Bengal appears to be a state where a fish trader turns out to be a another crorepati

This time, the credit of unearthing another man with crores of rupees in his possession goes to the Crime Investigation Department CID. He is a fish trader and the sleuths recovered more than Rs 1.3 crore in cash from his residence. The location is a village in Gazole of Malda district. The CID arrested the trader and has taken him to the police station for interrogation. It seems the police had prior information about the individual and his involvement in drug related activities, especially cough syrups. Based on the information the CID team arrived, conducted the raid and recovered the cash. There was currency notes in denomination of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 in different rooms. Once the cash was brought in one place, the team called for a counting machine from the local branch of a bank. CID raids fish trader's house, recovers Rs 1.3 crore cash.

The neighbors were stunned to know about the horde of cash in the house of the fish trader. One of them admitted - . “We had no idea that Saha was involved in any wrongdoing.” Another villager said - “He would take ponds and swamps on lease, harvest different varieties of fish and sell those to wholesale fish traders.” None of his neighbors had any inkling about his illegal activities. Until now, central agencies like the ED and CBI had been identifying political heavyweights and individuals and unearthing their crores. Now, the CID of the state is unearthing common traders with more crores. One can safely say Bengal offers innumerable opportunities to those who know the tricks of the trade to mint millions.

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Saving the river fish in the UK as lack of rains dries up water bodies

The population of healthy fish in the UK is drying up because of lack of rains. Low level of water in many places have sent out alarms. Therefore, the Environment Agency has stepped in and it is drawing up plans to save them. The population of healthy fish is now corralled by the lowest water levels that many can remember. After waiting till the last minute, the agency has plans to rescue fish in some of the most rapidly vanishing pools and transfer them to other parts of the river. They plan to use a technique called electro-fishing. It involves passing an electric current through the water. This stuns the fish on a temporary basis. It is then collected and transferred to tanks that are full of oxygenated water. River fish being moved in struggle to survive low water levels. This is no doubt a drastic step. There are possibilities that some of the fish might not survive. They are already stressed due to a lack of oxygen and high temperatures in the small pools to which they have been confined for weeks. However, the loss might be far less than the fish that survive.

The River Wye on the Welsh/English border is home to some of our most vulnerable fish populations. These include salmon and sea trout that must migrate the length of the river. The salmon have been dying for weeks because of not just low levels of water and oxygen but also due to rising levels of pollution. Drop of water levels mean rise in concentrations of pollution. Cattle and poultry farms near the bodies of water add to existing pollution from sewage treatment works. The ongoing drought has worsened the situation.

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Street foods are popular even in Singapore

Singapore is a country in South East Asia and a major travel destination. It is well connected with major cities in the world and caters to the global community. Hence, at any point of time, there are people from different parts of the world in Singapore. They interact with the locals in search of dishes that appeal to the taste buds. In order to meet this demand, there are hundreds of street food outlets that offer exotic dishes. These could be minced meat noodles or oyster omelet or fried noodles with seafood and eggs. These are a few of the out-of-this-world dishes. Many more are available in Singapore Street Food Guide

Minced meat noodles are nothing but a dish of noodles with toppings of minced pork, liver, meat or fish balls, fish cake slices. A vinegar-braised sauce comes along with the dish. Then there is the oyster omelet. The locals love this preparation. These have lots of eggs and a special vinegar chilli – ideal for breakfast. Another attraction for foodies is fried noodles with seafood and egg. It is a combination of fried egg noodles and rice noodles with prawn, fried pork fat, fish cake, and squids.


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Street foods have become a common feature even in Hong Kong

Thanks to television, the world has entered our drawing rooms. From our experience, we know a bit about India and the street foods that tickle our taste buds. Now let us have a look at Hong Kong. Some of its favorite street foods are fish balls, egg tarts, roast goose and pork buns. Then there are Cantonese deserts and local snacks of Hong Kong. Apart from these, there is the rice noodle rolls. These are a sort of snack. The first step is to douse them in sweet sauce, peanut sauce, soy sauce, and chilli sauce. Then comes the sprinkling of sesame seeds followed by steaming before being served hot on the street. To know more about street foods of Hong Kong try this link Where to get the best street food in Hong Kong

There are innumerable TV channels that try to meet the curiosity of food lovers and foodies. They are foodicted and those who run these channels offer an insight into the wide variety of dishes that are irresistible to many. These food outlets are there in Europe, America, Asia and those who love to travel like to carry back memories of exotic dishes. Some of them love to experiment and come up with their own version of a well-known dish.


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Home delivery cooked meals – an example of work from home

Necessity is the mother of invention. Home delivery of cooked meals is a concept born out of necessity. As the joint family system broke up into nuclear families, the question arose of how to manage the kitchen. It needs investment of funds for utensils, gas oven, microwave heater, refrigerator etcetera. Then they should have knowledge of cooking and the time to cook. Right now, time is at a premium for many because in most families, both the husband and wife have to meet deadlines at work. Hence, there has to be a source of food. One option is to order them online. The other option is to go in for home delivery of cooked meals.

The story of a popular Bengali TV serial is on this subject. A young girl who lives in a slum sets up such a business and manages to build a mini empire. She procures raw materials from the local market. These include vegetables, fish, chicken etcetera apart from rice, lentils, spices, cooking oil. She has a team of local girls who help in the cooking and a handcart to deliver the meals. Her operation is within a small area. It is, in short, a mini edition of well-known brands like McDonald’s, Zomato and Swiggy. Many individuals like her have joined the bandwagon and have become their own masters.

Survival tactics of unemployed Bengali youth

Necessity is the mother of invention and that is evident from the way the unemployed Bengali youth manage to survive even though they may not be blessed with a steady job that guarantees a pay-packet at the end of the month. It is strange that with thousands registered in the employment exchange and jobs at a premium, the Bengali youths arrange to obtain money required to pay for cinema tickets and mobile phone bills and cigarettes and tea and snacks – and they do not do this alone but usually have at least one girl for company.
How do they do it?
Well – these young Bengalis are innovative. It was the culmination of a number of important factors that showed them the way of how to lead a life that had its share of ups and downs and was also a paying proposition, provided one had the determination to forge ahead.

If I remember correctly, it all stated in the 1970s when, with bleak prospects of getting regular employment, they decided to go it alone. Their beginning was through groups of friends who would be called upon to organize feeding of guests at marriage parties. Usually, the head of the family would request a local boy to organize and the boy would oblige. He would land up with his trusted group of friends and take over. They would set the tables, and serve the food with smiling faces. And, after the last guest had left, they would sit with members of the family for their dinner. There would be occasions when the fish or mutton or the rosogollas would be in short supply – they would not grumble. They would happy at having done a social work.
They were contented with the thanks but, suddenly, one day. They decided to go professional – and, became caterers. A profession that has continued to flourish. It does not require any investment to start with except good contacts with suppliers from chairs and tables to fish, mutton, rosogollas and all other items that are indispensable at weddings.
The advances paid are from money received from the head of the family. The only requirement for success are skill, man management and contacts. (to be continued …)

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A look at the fish crazy Bengalis

It is a well-known fact that Bengalis are crazy about fish but, somewhere down the line, they have had to change their tastes from the small size tasty fish to larger fish that do have their values but do not taste like the ones fifty years back.
The main problem with the small size fish was its preparation prior to frying and cooking. These fishes had plenty of scales and getting rid of these annoying externals was a major headache for the mothers of yore. Usually the task would be assigned to elderly women in the family who had plenty of spare time or to the maid servants. It was the days prior to the arrival of LPGs on the scene and when the ovens would be coal fired. The ash that was left over at the end of the day would be carefully preserved and would be used in descaling the fish.

Yes, the women had a tact – they would hold the fish in between the fingers, dip it in the ash and then proceed to remove the scales. After that was doe, they would clean the internals and pick up the next one. Obviously, it was a time consuming affair but, once these small size fish went through the cleaning process and was coked and served, the dish would leave its taste in the mouth long after the meal was over.
Unfortunately, such women are nowhere around. They have vanished like the coal fired ovens and fish lovers have to now depend on the fish seller to clean and cut the fish to size. As a result, the attraction of small size fish have been lost. The craze is now for large size fish like rohu, katla, bhetki, prawns etcetera – these are easy to handle. Same goes for the ones that do not have the annoying scales – fish like pabda or tangra.
Of course, exceptions will always be there – and, the exception is the hilsa. It has scales but no one is much bothered because, beneath those scales lies a fish that tastes divine. It may be sourced from the Padma River in Bangladesh or from our very own River Ganges but, it is certainly the Lord of the Rings. (to be continued …)
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Fishy tales about Bengali fish lovers

Bengalis love fish – it is immaterial whether the fish are tiny kucho chingri or huge rohu or katla meant for marriage celebrations. The fact is that the menu of Bengalis are incomplete unless there is at least one item related to fish in it. Given the scarcity of this all important food item and sky rocketing price of whatever is available, Bengalis have to not just innovate but also go in for economy measures to the extent possible.
Of course, when one hears about Ilish festivals and when the cooking reality shows on TV make it a point to showcase different preparations of this wonder fish called Ilish, one wonders how many Bengalis can really afford to go in for such luxurious food items – it was rumored that Ilish from Bangladesh was selling for up to Rs 1500 per Kg and the fish on show weighed at least 2-Kg which translates into Rs 3000 for one fish!!

Obviously, there are Bengalis who can afford such luxuries and that the cry about unemployment and poor Bengalis are far removed from reality.
I stay in Nashik and there are fish but, not the wide variety that is available in Bengal. I get rui, katla, pabda, tangra and, of course, prawns that come from the Arabian Sea. Of late, lobsters are also seen – these are being cultivated locally in the Gangapur Dam that supplies water to the city. Ilish does come once in a while but these are again the Arabian Sea variety and size is never more than one Kg. Hence, the taste of Ilish of Bengal never comes through.
However, in Bangalore or in Pune, the varieties of fish are much more and, in fact, the fishmongers arrange to airlift the fish directly from Kolkata – the fish are fresh but the cost is more due to the air freight charges.
One thing I have noticed – nowadays, the fishmongers have a system to descale and cut the fish to size as per your requirements. The reason is that the housewives of today do not know just how to go about this work. They just store the fish in separate packets and put in the freezer – to be removed and cooked on as and when required basis. (to be continued …)
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Influence of Bengali culture on Hindi movies

We have noticed that during the last decade, there has been an unmistakable influence of Bengali culture on Hindi movies and even TV serials, thanks to big names like Sarat Chandra Chattopadhaya, Rabindra Nath Tagore and Satyajit Ray – they had very strong power of writing and when their novels came on the silver screen the products took the world by storm. Of course, some part of the credit should go to the producers and directors who saw tremendous potential in the story and were adept at translating the thoughts into visuals that kept the audience spellbound.
Take the novel Devdas – it was penned by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhaya in 1917 and its first movie version was released in 1955 – it was directed by Bimal Roy. Subsequently, in 2002, it got a fresh of life with the direction of Sanjay Leela Bhansali and the cast of Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Maduri Dixit. Yes, the storyline was modified to accommodate the 21st century mindset and the result was a boost to Bengali culture.
Another similar movie is Parineeta – another story of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhaya. Originally written in 1914, it captured the imagination of the audience when it was made in Hindi in 2005 with Vidya Balan, Saif Ali Khan and Sabyasachi Chakravorty. The period costumes, the Bengali settings helped to make popular the Bengali culture.
It needs to be mentioned that Vidya Balan has contributed a lot to popularize Bengali culture through her memorable performance in the 2012 movie Kahani – it gave the viewers a ringside view of the famous Durga Puja festival in Kolkata.

Bollywood usually portrayed Bengalis as Keshto Mukherjee, a drunkard or Asit Sen, the potbellied character who could fit into the role of a policeman with ease. To the common man outside Bengal, the people of Bengal were shown to be fond of fish and rosogolla. But, gradually, perceptions have changed – thanks to movie producers and directors who have had the courage to break out of tradition.
The result is for all to see – Bengali dress styles, Bengali food, Bengali culture and even characters who mouth Bengali words have increased in not only the Bollywood movies but can be seen in TV aerials as well.(to be continued …)
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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