🌧️ A Journey of Spice, Soul, and Shared Firewood
Monsoon in Bengal has a certain poetry — of soaked fields, muddy footpaths, the smell of mustard oil, and the unmistakable sound of ilish sizzling in an earthen pan. But this year, it was more than just nostalgia for me. I wasn’t just tasting the Hilsa — I was cooking it, laughing, learning, and living it.
At the heart of the Sundarban Hilsa Festival 2025, I found myself not in a restaurant or on a tour bus, but inside a humble riverside kitchen, elbow-deep in turmeric and tradition. This wasn’t part of the itinerary I expected, but it became the part I’ll never forget.
This is the story of how I ended up cooking ilish with locals during the most enchanting monsoon festival of my life — a festival where Hilsa meets heritage, and where travelers like me become family for a few fleeting, fragrant days.
🛶 Arrival in the Land of Water and Wonder
📍 From City Lanes to Creekside Charm
I left Kolkata in the early morning fog, guided by Sonakshi Travels, who curated my entire Hilsa Festival tour Sundarban. The car ride to Godkhali was smooth, and the boat waiting for me felt like something out of a painting — modest, wooden, and full of quiet promise.
The Sundarbans welcomed me with a cool breeze and distant thunder. It wasn’t just scenic — it was cinematic. Every ripple on the water whispered stories.
What I didn’t expect was that I wouldn’t just be watching — I’d be stirring the stories soon enough.
🍳 The Invitation: Into a Kitchen by the River
🐟 An Unexpected Offer
On the second day of the Sundarban Hilsa Festival, after a hearty lunch of Bhapa Ilish, our guide pointed to a village across the creek. “Want to try cooking with the locals?” he asked with a grin.
I couldn’t believe my ears.
“Yes,” I whispered. And just like that, I was rowing across the river to meet the women who hold the secret to Bengal’s most prized dish.
👩🍳 The Cooking Begins: Lessons in More Than Food
🔥 Hands That Tell Stories
I met Parul-di, my teacher for the day. She welcomed me with a warm smile and handed me a shil-nora (traditional grinding stone). Beside us, the firewood crackled. A big ilish lay cleaned on a banana leaf — fresh from the morning’s catch.
Under her guidance, I ground mustard seeds by hand. She adjusted my posture, laughed when I sneezed from the green chillies, and told me stories — of how she learned cooking from her grandmother, of how every ilish cooked during Ilish Utsav 2025 is a blessing from the river.
“Ilish-e mon dite hoy,” she said. “You must give it your heart.”
And I did.
🍲 The Recipes I’ll Remember Forever
Together, we made:
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Shorshe Ilish — mustard-paste hilsa cooked gently with chillies and mustard oil
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Begun diye Ilish Jhol — light curry with brinjal and nigella
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Ilish Bhaja — crispy fried slices that disappeared in seconds
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Ilish Machher Tel — the oil from the fry reused to flavor rice, a secret delicacy
The fragrance rising from the earthen pot was enough to make me emotional. Not just because it smelled divine — but because I was a part of the making.
🎶 Food, Songs, and Sunset: The Heart of the Festival
🎭 An Evening Like No Other
That evening, back on the boat, we were treated to a baul performance — soulful, earthy songs sung under lantern light, with the river gently rocking below.
As I sat there eating the same ilish bhaja I had helped prepare earlier, I felt something deep shift inside me. This wasn’t just food. It was connection. A celebration of culture, resilience, and community.
🧭 Planning Your Own Ilish Experience
📅 Best Time to Visit
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Peak Hilsa Season: July to mid-August
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Festival Duration: July to September
🚗 How to Reach
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Kolkata → Godkhali by private car (3.5 hours)
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Godkhali → Sundarbans by private boat (arranged by Sonakshi Travels)
🏨 Where to Stay
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Deluxe & Super Deluxe AC Rooms with river views
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Private jetty and boating facilities
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Meals prepared with local recipes, often by village women themselves
🎒 What to Carry
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Cotton clothes, umbrella, insect repellent
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Camera for food and cultural moments
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Open heart and hungry soul
💼 Why Book with Sonakshi Travels
Booking with Sonakshi Travels made everything effortless. I wasn’t just a tourist — I was a guest. A part of something sacred.
✅ Personalised private tour
✅ Cooking workshops with locals
✅ Cultural immersion, music, and stories
✅ All permissions, meals, and boat rides included
✅ Emotional and unforgettable experience
📞 Want to cook ilish with locals and create your own memory?
📲 WhatsApp Sonakshi Travels at +91 7980469744
💖 More Than Just a Fish
The Sundarban Hilsa Festival 2025 gave me more than new tastes — it gave me new truths.
It reminded me that food isn’t just about ingredients. It’s about the hands that stir, the stories that rise with the steam, and the bonds formed over firewood and friendship.
I left with the smell of mustard still on my fingers and the memory of Parul-di’s laughter in my ears. But more than that, I left with the knowledge that some recipes are meant to be shared — not in cookbooks, but in person, on the banks of the river, under a cloudy monsoon sky.
📞 Book Your Hilsa Festival Tour Sundarban Today!
💛 If you’re dreaming of more than a vacation — if you want a story, a skill, and a soul-touching meal — this is your calling.
🎟️ Organized by: Sundarban Nature Camp
🌐 Visit: https://sundarbannaturecamp.com/
🛶 Come stir the pot. 🍛 Come taste the tradition. 💬 Come find your story.
