India is known for its diversity in food, culture, and festivals. Different parts of the country celebrate different types of festivals like Holi, Ganesh Utsav, and Durga Puja. In the Tamil Nadu city of Dindigul, locals celebrate a fishing festival every year during monsoon. People enthusiastically participate in the festival from more than 200 regions in the city including Melur, Gopalpatti, Siluvathur, Natham, Singampunari, Siluvathur, and several others. Villagers gather in the Thaila Pillai tank, which is spread over about 20 acres near Natham Paraipatti district. During this fishing festival, a large number of people including children, women and young men, participate in competitions and fish together in the pond with various fishing equipment like nets, kutcha, bari, and baskets. The villagers are seen fishing for different kinds of fish including Jalebi, Viral Meen, Katla, and Gauthi. These fish usually weigh between half a kg and almost 3 kg. Following this, the villagers take these fish back to their homes and cook them. As per reports, they offer the first meal to their lord, and later the entire family happily consumes the dishes.
This fishing festival takes place in this pond every year. For a few years, these areas were facing a lack of rainfall, and there was no water logging in the pond. Due to last year’s rain, the inflow of water increased in the tank, and farmers were happy to see this.
This year, the villagers were quite happy to collect different types of fish; and after a long wait, they were able to celebrate this festival again. The children were also happy to take part in the competitions held. The villagers enthusiastically gathered for the festival.
This festival marks the traditional manner of fishing, using traditional equipment and tools to catch fish. The villagers celebrate other traditional festivals like Pongal, Tamil New Year and Diwali with great pomp too.
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