Mango Season

Mango season is here once again. All types of mangoes are now available in the market-
Alphonso (Hapus) from Ratnagiri,
Langra from Varanasi,
Chausa from Lucknow,
Dashehri from Lucknow,
Banginapalli from Kurnool
Badami from Karnataka,
Totapuri from Bengaluru,
Safeda from Andhra
Kesar from Gujarat
Malda from Bihar
Himsagar from West Bengal etc.

People are throwing mango parties in this season. India is the land of this juicy fruit called the king of fruits. About 1500 varieties are grown in different parts of India.

The sweet and juicy taste of ripe mangoes is relished by people of all ages. Mangoes are an excellent source of vitamins A, C, and E, as well as magnesium and potassium. They are a rich source of fiber, antioxidants, and are believed to have anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties.

The sticky texture of mango makes it a great treat to enjoy as juices, drinks or as an ingredient in smoothies and other recipes. Its uses include pulp (puree), juice concentrate, ready-to-drink juice, jam, jelly, pickle, smoothie, chutney, canned slices, chips, etc.

Apart from making pickles, powders, sauces, curries, chutneys and sour snacks, raw mangoes (Keri or Amiya) are also eaten straight from the tree as a fruit snack.

As a school going kid, I used to play dola pati with my friends in the adjacent garden. The joy of playing used to enhance from the mango blooming season itself, when the trees produced fragrant flowers in abundance.

We used to throw stones to make the raw mangoes fall and then eat them with salt and pepper. When the mangoes fell on their own during the storm, our work became easier, as we used to go and pick up the fallen mangoes the next morning.

Nowadays, there are no naughty children like us who throw stones or climb trees. Our little kids are busy with their mobiles and internet.

When my younger son was a child, he could not sleep without eating mangoes. He was so fond of mangoes that he used to cry every night when the mango season was over. It was very difficult to convince him that its season was over.

I used to console him by giving Amawat or Aam Papad (fruit leather). As a grown up person, he is still fond of mangoes, but he now knows when mango season comes and goes.

–Kaushal Kishore

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