Tales From The Indian Fish Trail

01 May 2010
A young boy attempts the fish cure. © P. ANIL KUMAR
The Bathini Goud brothers, Harinath sits second from left. © P. ANIL KUMAR

Journalist Samanth Subramanian never really liked fish—but when he decides to travel India’s diverse coast, he finds he must actually partake of these slippery beasts. Whether exploring a Catholic fishing community in Tamil Nadu, the ancient art of boat building in Gujarat or the hunt for the world’s fastest fish near Goa—even as he feasts on hilsa, mackerel and Bombay duck—he finds that fish lie at the heart of many different worlds. What results is a fluid, almost quixotic journey down the Indian fish trail.

In this excerpt from his travelogue, Subramanian investigates the controversial Hyderabad fish cure.

‘On Swallowing a Live Fish’ is excerpted from Following Fish: Travels Around the Indian Coast

Samanth Subramaniam is a contributing editor at The Caravan and the India correspondent for The National. He is the author of This Divided Island: Stories from the Sri Lankan War, and Following Fish: Travels Around the Indian Coast.

Keywords: fish trail Samanth Subramanian Following Fish: Travels Around the Indian Coast Hyderabad fish cure travelogue Bombay duck fish
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