Fishy Questions

One of the customs in a Bengali wedding is for the groom’s family to give fish-shaped sweets to the bride’s family. Apparently, this is a modified version of the original custom where they used to give an actual fish, usually a large one.

Which makes me wonder: If Connie Corleone had married, say someone named Prithwiraj Basu instead of Carlo Rizzi, would the wedding festivities have been brought to a halt by the threat that the custom implied?


I spent the extended weekend vacationing in Singapore. Quite an interesting place — might write a travelogue post later if I feel up to it. Anyway, one of the things I noticed was something called a “fish spa”. So I asked a friend what it was and he said it involved getting a pedicure by putting your feet in a tub full of fish and letting them nibble away at the dead skin on your soles. Assuming, of course, that the fish got themselves a copy of the Times Food Guide for Human Feet.

Which makes me wonder: Is there a viable business model that combines extreme sports and spa treatments? An extreme fish spa, if you will, where you put your feet in a tub full of piranhas and see if you can get a pedicure without ending up like Venus De Milo with a toenail-chewing habit?

6 responses to “Fishy Questions”

  1. Ewwwwww!! And also: ha ha ha haaaaa!

  2. hehe! With piranha fish, there is also a sporting chance of a low cost sex change operation if you fall into the tub.

  3. memsaab>> I take it you’re not too keen to get this particular pedicure? ๐Ÿ˜€

    naren>> I especially love your use of the phrase “sporting chance”. Never really thought of “sport” as a zero sum game between humans and piranha.

    1. Nope I am not! and am falling off my chair laughing at Naren’s remarks.

  4. I meant to go take one of those fish foot baths in South Korea last spring but didn’t get a chance to. Next time!

  5. That “fish spa” sounds fab! Never heard of it. (I’ve only been to Singapore twice, in transit, some ten years ago. Remember wandering around Mustafa mall and eating at Saravana Bhavan. That’s it.)

    So, I guess they let you stick your tired feet in a tub and, as you busy yourself watching Koi Mil Gaya, the fish go on a feeding frenzy, sloughing off your scales. Sounds oddly romantic. And I bet the staff send you off with a warm hug and a smile that says, “Phir aana.” ๐Ÿ™‚

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