Yashodhara Bangera
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)
Mangaluru, Aug 13: People residing in urban centres cringe when it rains heavily. But rural people are happy when there is copious downpour. Because, rainy season is the period in which the villagers, who are otherwise busy in farm activities, take up hunting, picking of button mushrooms from hillocks, harvesting of bamboo shoots, and preparing tasty items like Happalams and Sandige.
Along with the above, 'Ubar' fish hunting happens to be an activity the villagers early look out for. The locals in Moodbidri recently went on such an adventure, and needless to add, had a thrilling time catching fish and crabs.
'Ubar' is a name given to hunting of fish by moving about through canals, fields, etc. During the onset of monsoon, fresh water starts to flow through fields, canals etc, and the fishes come out of their traditional habitats like rivers and rivulets and start moving with fresh water into fields and canals. The villagers cover themselves with raincoats or jackets to avoid getting wet at night, usually return at dawn with a gunny bag full of 'Ubar' fish.
Black and brown colour crabs and catfish which are usually caught during 'Ubar', happen to be very fresh and tasty. There are many who use a part of their catches for making fresh dishes and sell the remainder of the catch. As rainy season happens to be the only period during which these tasty and fresh fish are available, it has become a tradition for family members of friends to join together, hunt these fishes, and prepare delicacies out of these catches.
It is not easy to hunt fishes in 'Ubar'. It requires intelligence, concentration, and skill. A sharp weapon resembling sickle and torch that beams powerful light are the only tools one requires for this activity. The charger lights are tied to the head by the hunters who hold the sickle in their hands. As poisonous snakes are also known to move about in canals and everywhere where water flows during the nights, losing a little concentration can pose one to grave danger.
Many youth treat 'Ubar' as an adventure, and they look to go out for this activity during rainy season. Many a time they go for pits or water bodies where fishes abound at night. Gunny bags or baskets are carried by the groups indulging in fish hunting. In the past, people used to hold powerful petromax lights which used kerosene to fire the light. Crabs and fishes are normally caught during this period. Although hitting with sickle is common practice for hunting of crabs, many possess the dexterity to catch crabs with bare hands.
Those who have long experience in this activity are able to predict spots where one can get rich haul. Normally, spots where tiny water pockets interspersed with stone structures abound with fish, these people claim. Crabs which come out of their holes either for food or for procreation get hunted down. The 'Ubar' groups which move about for several hours, usually chat among themselves, and have lot of fun and laughter. The fish catches are distributed equally among the group members. Alternatively, they make a dish by using all the catches together. Sometimes, these dishes are consumed along with some toddy. People who have consumed dishes made out of 'Ubar' catches say that they are very tasty, and different from normal catches.
The aim of 'Ubar' is not just catching fish to satiate hunger. This activity enables people to drive away boredom of rainy season, and also to stop crabs from carving out holes in their agricultural fields. For the villagers, who are tired of farming all through, 'Ubar' is like a festival that provides them respite from tiresome work, entertainment, apart from tasty dishes.
Also Read: