[ad_1]
The tiger weighing 65 kg is in demand for around 1 lakh rupees. Photo: Our time
The traditional 200 year old cremation fair takes place in Gabtali in Bogra. Today, Wednesday, the day of the fair, huge fish of different species were brought from different parts of the country. Of these, 85 kg of tiger fish catch everyone’s attention, the price of fish is rising to hundreds of thousands of rupees. On the occasion of this traditional fair, it became a meeting of family, friends and acquaintances in the 20 surrounding towns.
Local elders said that about 200 years ago, a monk’s fair was organized under a banyan tree in Poradaha, near the branch of the Ichhamati River (canal) at the Mahishaban junction of Gabtali upazila de Bogra. Held on the last Wednesday of the month of Magh or the first Wednesday of the month of Falgun, this fair became a gathering place for the residents of East Bogra. In this fair on the riverbank, different species of fish are imported every day. There was a time when it was known as the fish fair in the region. Thousands of people gathered at the fair on the west side of the burned area of the Ichhamati canal.
On the occasion of the fair, it has become the custom of neighbors to invite family and friends to eat. The fair attracts the attention of visitors from afar, circuses, Honda games, various kinds of toys and colored balloons. On one side of the fair sat the necessities of the home, especially the spice shops. On the other side was a wooden furniture store.
Apart from the huge tigers, the main attractions of the fair were the great chital, boal, rui, katla, silver carp, kal baush and shoals. Going to the fair, it was seen that the price demanded for the sale of 85 kg of tiger was 96,500 rupees.
Shukra Sakidar, a fishmonger, said that although a buyer offered a price of Rs 60,000, he did not sell it. If the fish is not sold at the fixed price, he said he will sell it at the reduced price per kg.
Lal Mia, next door, picked up another tiger weighing 45 kg from her tent. Buyers have said the price is 45 lakhs but he is not willing to sell it for less than 6 lakhs.
There are 10 department stores including Bismillah, Khwaja Baba, Chayatara, Mother’s Prayer, Brother Warehouse on the western side of the fairgrounds. Retailers from different areas who arrived at the fair from 4 in the morning began to buy fish in these warehouses. They then retail the fish at the fair.
Several warehouse managers, including Badiuzzaman, Sajjad Hossain and Abdul Jalil, claimed that medium and large-sized fish worth around Rs 14 million have been sold at wholesale prices at these warehouses as of noon today.
Joynal Abedin Tuku, owner of the Khwaja Baba Fish Market, said that the fairground has become smaller than before. Due to frequent relocation, space is shrinking. He said that he and other shopkeepers began to wholesale fish from dawn. From morning to noon, he has sold various species of medium and large fish for around Tk 1.5 million. Of these, fish weighing between 5 and 15 kg is the one that has sold the most, he said.
Buyers are happy that the price of fish at the fair is lower than last year. Khairul Hossain, a resident of the Rani neighborhood near the fair, said that the price of fish at the fair is much lower than last year. This time, Rui is sold at Rs 300 at Rs 500 per kg, Katla at Rs 350 at Rs 600, Mrigel at Rs 250 at Rs 300, Gangchil at Rs 300, Chital at Rs 300 at Rs 550, Boal at Rs 600 at Rs 1,200, Pot at Rs 200 to Rs 400, Grass Carp at Rs 250 to 350 and Silver Carp at Rs 300 to 350, Bigred and Kalbaush 250 to 400 and Pangas 150 to 400 Rupees.
Nikunj Kumar Pal, Chairman of the Mahishaban Public Sanyasi Puja Celebration Committee, said: “The real purpose of this fair was Sanyasi Puja. That was basically the tradition. But now due to the complexity of the place and the lack of coordination of the fair’s celebration committee, the fair has lost that tradition. For these reasons, the fair has been organized in a brick kiln field half a kilometer away rather than at the Sanyasi Puja site.
The Officer-in-Charge (CO) of the Gabtali Police Station, Lal Mia, said that all possible cooperation has been provided to carry out the fair in an orderly and peaceful manner. The administration will continue to cooperate in the future to preserve this rural tradition.
[ad_2]
