Mango - The King of fruits

When I hear this word ‘amba’ (Mango), it takes me to my childhood days, where my mother’s grandmother (in Maldoli village) used to open the room to me where mangoes were stored and she used to tell me, have as much as you want! We visited her mostly in summer vacations and that was the time when the whole house and everything in it smelled of mangoes. There were different types, the best one called Alphonso, which is considered the king of mangoes!! Mango itself is the king of all fruits and the king in mango kingdom means you can imagine the taste and the texture and the sweetness of it! We had mangoes for breakfast, when panji (my great grandmother) sliced the mangoes and put them in front of us. Then for lunch it was aamras (mango pulp) which was prepared by selecting the best of the ripe and fragrant mangoes and removing the pulp from it, by hands! And then the program of cleaning (licking every bit of mango) from the seed was a great event in itself. After a sumptuous lunch of aamras and puri or poli (roti), sleep was inevitable. After getting up by mid-afternoon, there was aam panna (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aam_panna) waiting for us. And then after having it, we were off to the mangroves to see the trees laden with mangoes. The mangoes were sold in Mumbai, but only after the inmates had enough to last for the season.

My mother tells me a story, she has a younger brother and as a child, she thought that her grandfather loved her kid brother more, because he was an heir to their family and was his eldest son’s son. He kept the best mangoes for him and often took him maadi (upstairs) to eat the mangoes. We all laugh it out now, but childhood is such bliss and many of my summer vacations have the sweet memories of mango! I got to eat the mango of this season on Saturday, when we bought the type ‘badami’ of mango from the Indian stores and I laid my hands on it, just like I did as a kid. The mango got smeared on my mouth and I licked the seed clean and felt like I achieved something. I haven’t eaten Mango since 2011. And this year I let go of all the fear and inhibitions associated with the mango related to weight gain. I just couldn’t let this year also pass with mango drought. 

The export of Alphonso mango to Europe is banned. I read an article about the artificial ripening of mangoes in India and its health hazards. I was wondering, why people chose to risk the lives of people who will buy mangoes and eat it with great relish, just for the sake of quick money, people are not bothered about the side-effects of using chemicals on this highly in demand fruit. That is indeed very sad.  I had to settle with a lesser known and savored type here in Germany, but that is ok. And I look forward to eat the different varieties next year in India. I will definitely relish the delicacies made from mango: mango rice, mango milkshake, mango ice-cream and mango muffins (will be my creation ;).