Bengalis and fish are inseparable

Fish are harmless creatures that are available in abundance on this planet – water constitutes ninety percent of the planet Earth and those who swim in these waters with complete abandon are also the gourmet’s delight. They vary in size from tiny shrimps to huge monsters of carps and catfish.
Bengalis are those who cannot survive without fish and, to them, life minus fish is no life at all. This is valid as long as he remains in Bengal but, once he leaves he has to, at times, make do with a life devoid of fish. If he does manage to lay hands on them once in a while, he is disappointed with the quality, taste and size of what is on offer.
Volumes have been written on fish and how best to prepare those dishes that tempt you into forgetting the calculations of calories. Nowadays, the trend is to take the help of the audio visual medium where each and every step is explained in details right from how to remove the scales of the fish, how to cut them down to size, how to fry or roast them followed by the intricacies of the gravy and, finally, the garnishing. The same fish can be prepared to impart different tastes – the art lies in the hands of the artists who are experts in adding just so much of something special to make you remember the taste for a long time.
An example is prawns – plain prawn curry with a base of ginger-onion-garlic paste has a specific taste. But, when the same prawns are mixed with raw mustard oil, grated coconut and green chilies and cooked in a closed container over a pot filled with water that is boiling over a low flame, the resultant preparation is exotic.
Similar is the case with the hilsa – these fishes are favorites of the Bengalis and, especially those that are found in the Padma River. Alas, it is now in Bangladesh and, occasionally, when stocks land up in the city markets of Kolkata, there is a mad rush. The prices might be astronomical (last heard of it was Rs 1200 per Kg) but who bothers – the taste is equally heavenly.
It is an indisputable fact that when hilsa fish are fried in mustard oil, the fragrance is felt not just in the particular house but in several adjacent blocks as well. And, the fragrance lingers on even after the fish have been digested!
However, all is not well on the fishy front - environmental pollution is taking a toll on their numbers and health. Due to global warming, ponds, lakes and rivers are drying up leading to destruction of habitat for the fish with resultant scarcity and rising prices.