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Hilsa or Ilish belongs to the species Tenualosa of the family Clupeidae, order Clupeiformes. Shad or Herring are a near relative of hilsa. Locally known as Ilish, the fish is an addiction of Bengalis especially to those who originated from Bangladesh. The body of hilsa is strongly compressed and moderately deep with dorsal and ventral profile equally convex. The upper jaw has

a distinct central cut. Regularly arranged medium-sized scales gives a metallic silver shine. Body length may vary from 40 cm to 60 cm. A large-sized hilsa weighs about 2.5 kg.  Hilsa is primarily a plankton feeder and feeds on blue-green algae, diatoms, desmids, copepods, cladocera, rotifers, etc. A change in season and age varies the feeding habit of the fish. Female hilsas grow faster, and are usually larger than males. The hilsa is known to be a fast swimmer and can cover even 60 kilometers at a time. It attains maturity in one to two years.Hilsa is a Pariah fish. Though basically a marine fish it thrives in estuarine and riverine environments. The fish is found in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Vietnam Sea and China Sea. Their habitat covers the Satil Arab, and the Tigris and Euphrates of Iran and Iraq, the Indus of Pakistan, the rivers of Eastern India, the Irawaddy of Myanmar, and the Padma, Jamuna, Meghna, Karnafully and other coastal rivers of Bangladesh. It swims upstream as the inland stretches of these rivers are the breeding grounds for the fish. In West Bengal Hilsa is available in five regions - from Farakka to Konnagor, in the sweet water region; Konnagor to Diamondharbour, in the slope of Ganges; from Diamondharbour to Sandhead, in the distributaries region of Bay of Bengal. Besides hilsa is also available in Matla and Rupnarayan River.

In the sea the fish remains short and thin, and does not taste good. As it enters the inland rivers, both its size and taste increase. The fish is anadromous, with a life cycle that follows the general pattern of breeding upstream in fresh water and the larvae hatching from the free-floating eggs. The immature young stages grow in river channels and then descend to the sea. This is the period of feeding and growth before returning to the rivers as mature breeding adults to complete the  cycle, unless misfortune tends them to turn into a delicious item

in the average Bengali dish. Immature hilsa fish (6-10 cm), known as khoka, are extensively caught during their seaward migration in some of the major rivers of the India and Bangladesh.
  Although hilsas reproduce more or less throughout the year, they have a minor breeding season during February-March and a major season in August-October. It is for this reason hilsa is also a seasonal fish. Monsoon with pitter-patter raindrops or Ilshe-guri in Bengali, with eastern wind and cloud in sky marks migration of hilsa.

During this season the 25A and 25B lock gate of Farakka Barrage in India are kept open to help in the migration of hilsa in Ganges. The coastal fishermen also catch hilsa during the dry winter months from October to February. Hilsa is an extremely soft kind of fish and tends to rot very quickly. So it needs immediate freezing or cooling with ice as soon as it is caught. Often this facility is not found in the catching grounds. The price of the fish, therefore, fluctuates with the factors of transportation, freezing and size of the catch.

Bengalis are still entangled in its love even in this age of changing trends. To some the variety of Ganges is tastier than that of Padma as it is more sweet and soft to taste. While a large section of Bengalis especially those who emigrated from Bangladesh are blind fans of the Padma variety. Keep aside the taste the nostalgia mingles with it. But how come the present generation shares the taste without nostalgia is a question.

Particularly in the rainy season hilsa is considered one of the best delicacies on Bengali menu. There are many preparations of this fish. Taken fried, or with soup (jhol), baked folded in banana leaf (paturi) or steamed with mustard (bhape) it goes well with khichuri, as well as with panta or watered rice. In the traditional protocol of Bengali entertainment, serving hilsa to very near, dear and honored guests for lunch or dinner is almost an obligation. Without this all other items, however rich those may be, are considered inadequate

To satisfy this demand of hilsa in the Bengali market increased catching of the fish is one of the reasons of decline in hilsa fishery. As big fishes in monsoon season carries eggs catching them means the eggs don't gets the opportunity to hatch. Besides fishing regulations do not permit catching young hilsas as this will also affect the next year's production. Reduced supply of fish raises the price every year. Bengalis, originating from Bangladesh so practiced a ritual to promote the thriving of the fish. According to it they used to start eating hilsa after worshipping it in the day of Saraswati puja (goddess of learning) around January-February and stops eating after the celebration of Durga Puja (in the eighth day of the festival) around October. As August-October is the breeding season of hilsa for next five months the young hilsa fishes (khoka Ilish) are spared for thriving. Even fishermen used to keep big holes in their net so that the young fishes could slip off. But nowadays hilsa is available in market around the year to titillate the palates of Bengalis all around the world irrespective of age, sex and religion in this age of communication revolution. Hats off to hilsa.