The water-mud fishing festival is getting lost.

At one time in rural Bengal fishing was done by irrigating low lands with canals and beels after the monsoon. The traditional fishing scene is no longer seen.

In the intense heat of the month of Bhadra and the rising sun, the water of the rivers recedes and the submerged fields begin to dry up. Although the water dried up, many native fish were trapped in these places. And at that time the people of the village went down into the muddy water and caught fish with their hands.

Kneeling in the muddy water in the intense sun is also one of the entertainment of rural Bengal. This trend has been going on for hundreds of years, which is still flowing today.

Surrounded by rivers, Tangail district is surrounded by several rivers including Jamuna-Dhaleshwari. In the evolution of time, the size of these rivers is getting much smaller. Even then, in the monsoon season, all these rivers became turbulent in the downpour. Not only rivers, but also ponds and canals increase. Paddy fields and low lands are submerged. Along with the water, various native species of fish arrive in that land.

Once the canals, ponds and fields have dried up, a little water is used to irrigate them. The pond water is irrigated with a pump machine. Then came the fishing festival. Rejoicing, the people put their hands in the mud of the empty water of ponds, canals and beels and brought one fish after another. In addition to the fish farmed in the irrigated pond, various native species of fish are found. And in the pond there are various native species of fish including shoal, taki, putti, khalse, kai, magur, sing, tangra.

One such mud fishing festival was seen in Mahmudnagar, a char area in Tangail Sadar Upazila. On Tuesday morning, a paddy was found on the side of the Tangail-Mahmudnagar road.

According to the locals, every year when the rainy season ends, when the water recedes, such fishing festivals are held in the low lands of the area. In that festival, men and women, boys and old people all got involved in fishing. There is an unwritten competition about who can catch more fish in the muddy water.

They said that although many species of native fish were caught in this way before, now is not the day. There is no abundance of fish. Due to the constant decline of fish sanctuaries, the fishing festival is not as frozen as before. The sources of native fish are gradually disappearing.

An elderly man lamented, ‘The scene of returning home with fish from Khalbil at the end of the day is not so eye-catching now. The smell of cooking five mixed fish is not spreading in the village houses like before this season.

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