“The guts, blood, all the bits that are thrown out; there’s filth in this work, but it’s also a part of (our) life”

The scent of agarbatti, sweet and sharp, is what you first encounter at Mumbai’s Saki Naka Fish Market. 

Aashiq stands on a raised platform in the centre of his shop, named Arsh, with a customer-luring confidence. Fresh fish is laid out in front of him in varying sizes: pomfret for rupees 60, 80, 100. A surmai the size of my legs. Rani fish, as though from a story book, fluorescent yellow on the sides and bright princess pink at the stomach. “It’s called rosabella in English,” says Aashiq. 

Having fished in Jamkhambhaliya in Gujarat, Aashiq believes Mumbai has the best catch. “We have contacts in Versova, Dadar, Vasai. They send us videos and come in trucks to drop [them] off. Everyday.” Taaza fish is easy to identify, if you know what to look for. He grabs a pomfret, tells me to pry open the eyes and look beneath, at the gills. The gills of a recently caught fish will still be bright red. Soft, plump Bombay duck is fresh when it is firmer around the belly. According to Aashiq, Mumbai’s favourite is bangda, or mackerel. At rupees 250 a kilo, it is affordable, offering ordinary meals the “mazza” of “non-veg”. 

After studying business at Mumbai’s St. Xavier’s College and working in the corporate world, Aashiq returned to doing what he knows best—enjoying being the boss of his work. But “dealing with a dead thing all day and night, it’s difficult. The guts, blood, all the bits that are thrown out; there’s filth in this work, but it’s also a part of (our) life.”

This shop—and the market—has stood here for 70 years. “My parents, and before them, my grandparents, ran this shop. Now, it’s looking a bit uncertain.” The scaffolding behind the market and the tall building it hides offer some explanation. A spate of redevelopment projects equals a calculated effort to remove the market. The sellers have tried to resist—most have only ever known this market, for over three generations. 

Aashiq tells me his favourite is sardine: “We roast it in shallow oil until everything is crispy, the thorns too.” Cashing in on his knowledge of my West Bengal origins, he adds, “It’s tasty, like your hilsa”. He knows how to make a good sale.