THE fish-eating population of Vizag is sharply divided into two: those that love seafood, that is fish caught out at sea; and, those that will only eat the fish that comes out of the rich and bountiful Godavari River that flows by the city or the catch from small ponds in which fish is �cultivated� outside Vizag. In other coastal cities like Calcutta that also has the Hooghly River flowing through it, the sea fish and river fish are sold at one market. In Vizag, there are two separate markets for the purpose. The sea fish is sold at the harbour itself which is in the city, because Vizag is a port city, straight out of the trawlers that bring it in. And the river fish is sold at a roadside market within Vizag and near the Road Transport Corporation�s bus-stand, because the Godavari River is not nearby, it is 200 kilometres away. This market is exclusive and is open only on Sunday.

The best-selling item at the RTC river fish market is the prawn, of that there is no doubt. This is the freshwater prawn, white in colour and medium-sized, with a striped shell, unlike the big red prawn that is caught at sea. It is not really a river fish, this prawn, because it is cultivated in small ponds in places like Nellur and Vijaywada outside Vizag. A lot of people prefer this prawn to the sea prawn because it is cheaper and cleaner. The argument about which is the more tasty variety persists for ages and cannot be settled.

And the other popular fish is the Rohu, a big Bekti-like fish that weighs about 1.5 kg. The people of Vizag love this fish. It is also on the menus of most restaurants in the city, big and small, because the Rohu lends itself admirably to fiery Andhra curries.

In the RTC river fish market, people also come for small local fish like the Bommudalu, which is small and black like an Anchovy, but extremely tasty, and the Marpulu, which is like a Catfish, long and black, with a moustache, and also tasty in the pot. There is a Khorameen, not to be confused with the backwater fish Karimeen of Kerala, which is like a small Mullet, and the mud crabs of the Godavari and Krishna rivers. These are small but fleshy, and a dirty green in colour.