By Ashis Biswas
KOLKATA: As expected, the familiar Bangladeshi snootiness about buying Indian products, generally witnessed during periods of bilateral tensions, is back with a vengeance, This time, the unexpected target of the collective outrage of East Bengalis, of all things, is the otherwise inoffensive Hilsa fish of Gujarati vintage!
A section of Bangladeshi fish eaters has strongly focused on the notional deficiencies of the poor Gujarati Hilsa, viciously junked as a poor country cousin of the royal Padma variety, while venting their displeasure to the Dhaka-based mass media. There are elaborate accounts describing how the Narmada river-bred Hilsa splinters into tiny pieces if anyone tries to fry it in hot mustard oil — most unpleasant indeed! Nor is this the end of the trouble — for do what you will with the Gujarati import, it simply cannot compare in any way with the genuine article found only in the mighty Padma river in terms of taste, aroma or general culinary satisfaction period and end of story.
The matter would not have secured even a casual media mention in more normal times. In a way, it was the Bangladeshi administration that by its decision to import the Hilsa to keep people satisfied during a bad period of hilsa shortage, was responsible for the resultant fiasco. Not surprisingly, Bangladesh as a whole is not just rubbishing an item imported from its regional neighbour — the greatest flaw in the fish of course is that it was procured from the big bad neighbour, India.
Therefore, it is time for yet another round of big time India-bashing, the tested favourite national pastime for people from Dhaka to Teknaf! And at a time of national torment economically and otherwise, most of them have grabbed the opportunity with both hands, as it were.
It is common knowledge that post August 5, 2024, the times have not been kind to millions of Awami League supporters in Bangladesh, or by extension, for India, recognised by all as the Chief League backer, either. Fortunately for most Indians, the Bangladeshi cacophony over the merits of a particular variety of fish comes as no more than a mild irritant hardly worth any press coverage.
To be fair, the average Bangladeshi fish buyer had one good reason to complain. Apparently, local trade circles had run a campaign proclaiming that the imported hilsa just over 550 tonnes although procured from Gujarat, was actually of the same vintage/quality as the Padma product. As much of the eagerly awaited cargo arrived at the Benapole land check post, between July to September, some supplies reached other places too, including Dhaka in Bangladesh.
But everywhere, there had been a sustained advance publicity organised by local trade circles to the effect that only Bangladeshi varieties had been procured from Gujarat!
Somehow, the price of the imported fish was not unusually high. According to one media report two fishes weighing about 800 grams each were sold at Taka 1200 each at Benapole. A disappointed buyer later spilled the beans to local mediapersons, feeling let down over the poor specimen he had taken home.
The relatively low price level set off speculation among experienced traders. There was no way, they said later, that good quality Padma hilsa, imported at that, would be sold at such prices, never mind the size factor. They explained that local fishermen were well aware that hilsa fish purchased from India’s West coast was generally bigger in size than similar fish in Bangladesh. But local handlers could always differentiate between various types of fish easily. They would know the advantages of the high quality Padma hilsa in terms of taste, their tangy smell and rich oily content by sight and physical shape, thanks to experience.
As for the Gujarat variety again, experts pointed out that they often resembled typical sea fish, which were always somewhat different from river-bred products. Also the price was a factor. A single kilo of the genuine Padma variety fish sold at over taka 2000 a kilo at Dhaka a couple of years ago, according to one report.
The ultimate test of genuineness in the quality of fish was in the cooking as well as in its eating, according to experts quoted in Bangladeshi media. If anyone tried to fry the Padma hilsa by mustard oil, the aroma would spread all over the neighbourhood and much oil would ooze out of the fish itself!
Apparently nothing of the sort had been reported by any of the buyers of the imported Gujarat variety. Almost invariably they complained of the flat taste and even staleness in the products they bought so eagerly.
So much so, the Bangladesh administration in its hurry to satisfy the disillusioned groups of people, banned the purchase of hilsa varieties from India in the third week of September. Presumably also to conceal its own lack of expertise in exercising minimal quality control in imports it had ordered! However, there were doubts about whether its ban was really working — there have been unsubstantiated reports of smuggled varieties still reaching parts of Bangladesh even as the authorities struggle to enforce the official ban stringently. (IPA Service)
