Bonding over Bongness

To quote the poet himself, on his death anniversary,

I seem to have loved you in numberless forms, numberless times…
In life after life, in age after age….. forever.

The lines somehow wonderfully essays the love story of a bengali and his fish.

No wonder, that a true bong, at least once in his lifetime, has gotten into a heated ‘BANGAL VS GHOTI’ argument, with his friends or family. Also a blue-blooded Bangal (hailing from the erstwhile East Bengal ), knows just when to play his trump card ….. ‘Ilish mach’ (Hilsa fish) and win this argument hands down ! However, there is no denying, that the same ‘ilish’, be it from the Padma, or the Ganga, has bonded bengalis in a strangely delicious way.

Yes, l love my fish, and can very well kill for my slice of the ‘queen of fishes’, and thus an ordinary  summer afternoon today became extraordinary with ’Ilishious’ – a food fest in Pallymangal Puja grounds, Jodhpur Park, Kolkata. The Festival  is on  from 8^th to 9^th August 2015.

There are stalls by 6 Ballygunge place, Aaheli, Kewpie’s, Fish Fish, Puran Dhaka, to name a few … and for the nitpicking ones, who want to cook their fish on their own, there are vendors selling beauties, fresh out of the Padma ! There are mouth watering options for those with the sweet-tooth as well, with Nalin , Balaram et al up with their creations. Sharing  moments of this delicious afternoon.

So ‘Bongosontans‘ (children of bengal) chuck your ‘gaser asudh’ (antacids), for a day, and rush, lest you miss the chance to romance with the Queen of Fishes.