Mango Man – Aam Aadmi

Riddle time…here I go … What is “Bombay Yellow”……no it’s not a dye or colour code. Here is another one, what is “Malda”. Hint: – It’s not a place….any guesses…no???? okay let me go to something simpler … what is “safar Pasand, “Rajapuri”, Raspuri, “Chaptai”, “Rumani”, Neelum, (Hint :- These are the different names of the same fruit)…..ok now let me give it to you…”langra”, Chausa, makhi, sandhoori, totapuri, alfonso……ya too late but you are right am talking about Mangoes.

Undisputedly known as the “King of all fruits across the world” but to me more apt would be Kanhaiya of all fruits. Because it is no figment of my imagination but it’s a fact that there are almost more than 200 varieties of mangoes alone in India with that many different names to it. Am pretty convinced that lord Krishna would wonder how that happened.

Mangoes have been the part of very fiber that we are made of and let’s admit we can’t have enough of it. It not just part of the daily diet of a common man but since the ancient times mango and the tree has been part of rich culture, festivities and growing up. The mango tree throughout India top to bottom is considered very sacred and is used in any significant celebration. Let alone the fruit, the leaves are of utmost importance in puja to large ceremonies. The most common practice is to tie them in “molee” holy red thread and hang them outside a newly opened, shop, office and house or best used for weddings, birth ceremonies and especially in festivities like the Deepawali.

Studies now in the modern era have suggested that mangoes are high in potassium that helps regulating heart and blood pressure. It is loaded with antioxidants and helps protect against colon and breast cancer and leukemia and prostate cancer.

Month of May is the grand arrival of the sweetest of all fruits but in order to cope with huge demands shippers now press for artificially ripening of mangoes. The best way to ripe mangoes is to let them ripe on the tree but that is slow and has chances of birds attaching the fruit. The other way is to pluck them and let them ripe in a cool shade in covered with a stack of hay. But a lot of suppliers now quicken the process by using a chemical compound called “Calcium Carbide” or just carbide. This whitish grey powder with foul smell releases gases that ripen the mangoes in a box. In a lot of countries this calcium carbide is banned as the traces of this chemical reaches the human system and is very hazardous to health. Therefore it is very important to thoroughly wash the mangoes or best soak them in water for few minutes before using them. And always wash hands before having them.

One of the most elusive, most expensive and the best in the world of mangoes is the Alfonso. This mango comes from Maharashtra and is considered the best mango in the world. So much so that most of the best produce is simply exported. But honestly I am not upset cause any way I feel that the shelf life of Alfonzo mango is very less and the size is very small and aam admi cannot afford it, so my personal favourite is the Andhra variety of Langra. Now this is a rally big mango (almost half kg), has a thin peel, small seed, very fleshy and honey like sweet. In true sense V.F.M. (value for money).

The use of the mango is varied, right from pickles, relishes, chutneys and aam papad to mango yogurt, smoothies, lassi, shakes to fish curries, meat curries and as just plain old fruit salad. And just as I write I am just mesmerized by the nostalgic memories of my childhood and growing up that it brings about. As a child the arrival of mangoes was pretty evident. Because on any given summer day I would come back from school only to find my mother on the rooftop in fierce summers, carefully drying mangoes for pickle. I remember how I would try to sneak a piece of raw mango into my pocket to savor it later. And as a fact we were the few ones on the street having a 3 story building which gave a clear view of other rooftops that I saw as far as I could laden with raw mangoes getting ready for Pickle. Now that sight I surely miss forever.

Another mango memory that I have as a child was summers. Summers meant holidays and that meant a trip to somewhere. So one summer vacation we packed up for shimla. And on that one trip my father packed a rather unusual thing….a plastic bucket full of ice….my immediate question was are we not staying at a hotel that we have to carry our bathing bucket…. to which he would smile and say it’s a sweet surprise. And as we just settled in the train he pulled out the surprise. A box of crimson red mangoes…which he carefully places them in the bucket of ice and poured water on it. It was a bit of amusement for the rest of the people in the compartment but my dad minced no words and said aloud, let them chill then we shall attack. We kids were excited and the sheer joy of dipping hands in ice cold water and pulling out mangoes and having them A La Desi Style was fun. Desi style means no knife, no fork, and no plates… just good old hands. On that very train I learnt my first lesson on how to eat mangoes in desi style; my father taught me how to be careful and not messy. But as clumsy I was with mangoes I had my mouth full of half the mango with long yellow moustaches and the sweet sticky juice running down till my elbows.

By now the amusement of the bystanders had turned into desire to have some of the chilled mangoes. And that is the beauty of Indian trains and “mango People” (aam aadmi) (which proudly I say my dad is) that as soon as the train starts no one is a stranger, all are welcome to share. Now this bucket had become part of every family outing in summers, every picnic or very train journey I would happily drag our ulgy plastic bucket—Kya Karu aam aadmi hu na….