During Durga puja, many Bengalis make a sacrificial offering of hilsa to the goddess... but for how long? Meet the fish wearing many hats. Labanya explains.
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00:00This is not a fish.
00:07It's a diplomatic tool, a cultural symbol and it's love to death.
00:17Hilsa might be the Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina's favourite gift to give when it comes to India.
00:23Wondering why?
00:24When she visited India in September, nearly 2500 metric tonnes of Hilsa were exported here to ring in Durga Puja.
00:41But this wasn't the first time the fish accompanied the premier.
00:45In fact, a lot of times when India and Bangladesh were in a sticky diplomatic situation,
00:50PM Hasina sent Hilsa to the frontlines.
00:53She gifted the fish to West Bengal's CM Jyoti Basu just before signing the Ganga Water Sharing Treaty with India.
01:00President Pranab Mukherjee was supposed to break a stalemate between India and Bangladesh sharing water from the Tista River.
01:07And guess what Sheikh Hasina gifted him?
01:13That's right, Hilsa.
01:14Hilsa is our pride. It's a flagship of the country.
01:18In fact, Bangladesh, which is the world's largest producer of the fish, had put in place an export ban in 2012.
01:26But it was lifted for exports to India during Durga Puja in 2019 as a gesture of goodwill.
01:32So what is it about the Hilsa that makes it so sought after?
01:36The Hilsa that the Bajar Sarkar brought today, made me so happy.
01:43Hilsa, or Ilish, is known as the king of fish, and it's loved in equal measure by both the Bengals.
01:49But when Sir Cyril Radcliffe divided the subcontinent during the partition in 1947,
01:54he also divided the rivers that flowed there, including the Ganga, the Padma, and the Brahmaputra.
02:01Although Hilsa is a saltwater fish found in the Bay of Bengal,
02:04it actually swims upstream in rivers during breeding season.
02:08This gives the fish its quintessential soft, oily texture.
02:12And while the rivers in West Bengal also have Hilsa,
02:15they are much lesser in number since these waters are much better suited to breed crustaceans like prawns.
02:22This Hilsa-prawn rivalry also found its way into football.
02:26When the East Bengal club plays Mohan Bagan,
02:29the prices of Hilsa and prawn invariably skyrocket the next day, depending on which team wins.
02:35Both sides celebrate by devouring their respective team mascots
02:39to an extent where all markets are often sold out.
02:44Coming back to Hilsa, the fish is enjoyed during all special occasions,
02:48from births to weddings to pujas and even funerals.
02:52And not just Bengalis, it's of cultural significance to Sindhis
02:55as well as people from Andhra Pradesh.
02:57But there's a dark side to this love for Hilsa.
03:00The demand for the fish throughout the year and the exorbitant prices it fetches
03:04had resulted in massive overfishing.
03:07Even during breeding season when the government in India
03:10has banned Hilsa fishing in the country's rivers and seas.
03:19This, coupled with siltation in rivers, drying riverbeds and increasing water pollution
03:24has drastically reduced Hilsa populations.
03:27So, if you're not careful, there might soon be a time when Bengalis
03:31might not get to offer the Goddess Durga their favourite fish during puja.