Warning: before reading this post, do know that this post is in no way intended to hurt your of any of your friends' sentiments... it's just something that came up on my mind after observing one of the common trends related to Pohela Boishakh... if anyone is still offended, then know this - you've been warned!!!
Pohela Boishakh has always been one of my favorite times of the year. I absolutely love the idea behind the day and the festivities that go along with it. For as long as I can remember, I have always been celebrating this day of the year. However, as we grow older (and in some of our cases, wiser :P), we start viewing the things around us from multiple perspectives. I had such a realization today while shopping for a Dawat at my place on Pohela Boishakh.
Elish (no, I refuse to refer to my favorite Elish maach as Hilsha!) has always been an integral part of Pohela Boishakh. For many, a Pohela Boishakh meal without Elish is pointless. When I went to the shop today, I kinda expected the place to be out of Elish as it was both a weekend as well as the day before Pohela Boishakh. Surprisingly, the place had plenty of Elish and it is then that the so called realization actually struck me.
As I was standing at the fish corner, confused about which Elish to get (as there were three types, with different price tags of course), I observed the different type of people who were also Elish shopping! Let me warn you again, this is solely my own observation! Let's see if you can relate -
Tk 3,550 per kg - each of your Elish will at least weigh 1 kg, you are the 'elite' Bangali to whom money is not an issue. Fresh Elish on Pohela Boishakh is a must for you regardless of the fact that you wouldn't even know the difference. You probably don't even bother about Elish for the rest of the year but it's definitely a must on Pohela Boishakh. Ekkere Bagher Baccha!
Tk 2,495 per kg - for the 'shoukhin' Bangali. Your Elish is also 'ekdom fresh' but a little small on the size - probably not up to the 'elite' standards. Like your elite friends you also need 'taaja' Elish on this day even though it actually doesn't make a difference to you. But nevertheless you still have to maintain your social status and 'lagle ekta kinmu kintu daami tai kinmu' is your motto (the person next to me actually did that). Hats off to you mate! - such a fighter!
Tk 740 per kg (Frozen) - for the 'khati' (feel free to read CHEAP/KIPTA/CHALLU) Bangali aka Myself! Like me, you probablyy thought 'eto taka diye Elish kine ki labh? ke bujhbe? maal moshla diya radhle to shobi ek!' Yes my friend, you are right - just as I am right! In fact I might as well pass my Elish as 'taaja' and if it doesn't taste good (hoping it doesn't come to that) I might as well blame the shop and say 'shob shala baatpar! taaja boila eita dhorai dilo???' We are the true Bangalis and have barely managed to keep the title by getting ourselves Elish on Pohela Boishakh. For the rest of the losers, Elish kino nai to ajke tomra Bangali na! Ta tumi jotoi 'hedom' hou! Muri khao!
So, 15 minutes at the fish corner and I actually saw the three types of Elish and their typical buyers. On a personal level, I consider myself to be a food enthusiast and according to many, I have a bad reputation of spending 'too much' on food. However, I am strongly against the idea of quoting absurd prices on items for a particular time of the year - as in this case, what the opportunist shop owners are doing with the price of Elish, and people willingly paying these absurd amounts. We all know that this is a common scenario in our country during Ramadan, Eid and other festivities but for some reason, this Elish fiasco actually pissed me off as I blame many of us for allowing the sellers to ask for such absurd prices and getting away with it. We all love Elish but it surely should not become a symbolic necessity of our Pohela Boishakh for which many of us would be willing to pay such absurd amounts.
Anyway, I still hope that everyone is happy with their Elish purchase - I certainly am happy with mine. Shubho Nobo Borsho everyone!
