Making Shutki while the sun shines

One of Chattogram's best loved culinary delicacies -- shutki (dried fish) -- is not just a favourite in the port city, but it sets mouths watering around the country and has become popular in many parts of the world.

There are various kinds – Chhuri, Loitta, Rupchanda, etc. – and they each have unique tastes, but their journeys start with being dried for 10-12 days under the sun and end on dinner tables in various guises.

Just as shutki excites diners, it is also enticing for traders as they can sell it at a higher price than raw fish. Beds of gleaming silver -- thousands of fish laid out to dry in the sun – is a common sight in river banks and coastal areas of Chattogram. Workers from different parts of the country descend upon the area to partake in this lucrative trade.

The photos were taken from Chattogram's Notun Bridge area recently.

Photo: Prabir Das