The fishing village of Shankarpur is about five kilometres south of Tajpur along the coastal road, and its fish market is one of the best reasons to be up at dawn on this stretch of coast. The boats come in between 5 and 7 am and the market is active for about two hours after that — after which the best fish has moved on to Kolkata.
The market is small and informal: buyers and sellers negotiate over piles of the morning catch, fishing boats beach right on the sand, and the whole transaction has an efficiency that comes from doing the same thing every morning for generations. The village itself is worth a short walk — the older houses have the terracotta roof tiles and carved wooden beams typical of the coastal Bengal vernacular. From Tajpur, the easiest way here is by the coastal road; a cycle-rickshaw or motorcycle taxi can be arranged at the beach.