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 It’s
the mango season again! Roadsides, pavements and markets all over the city are flooded
with the king of fruits at this time. In fact, the mango has occupied pride of place
amongst all fruits since historical times itself. Akbar the famous Mughal emperor,
relished them so much, that he had a special mango grove planted with about one lakh trees
of the langra aam in it. This mango has a deliciously sweet taste and is very
popular in north India. The mango tree is of no less
religious significance to Hindus and Buddhists as well. The sthalvriksha of the
Ekambeswarar temple in Kancheepuram is a mango tree. It is believed that certain tribals
in India conduct their betrothal ceremonies under the shade of the mango tree, because it
is considered auspicious.
About 1500 varieties of this yummy fruit are in circulation
in the world as of now out of which a rich and varied variety is available in Chennai.
Walk through the Koyambedu Fruit Market in the city, which is incidentally a wholesale
market, and you’ll be hollered from both sides by exuberant shopkeepers eager to
extoll the virtues of this royal fruit. From the luscious yellow banganapalli’s to
the red tinged pithar’s, a wide range of mangoes are there to be relished during the
blistering heat of the city.
Anil the salesman at the Senthil Enterprises mango shop
informs us, that May to July is the best season for the fruit. This year production being
low, there was less stock in the market, but was expected to pick up by the beginning of
June, the peak period for its supply. All the shopkeepers are unanimous in the assertion
that prices stand slashed by almost half this year compared to the previous year’s
rates. As of now, banganapalli, imampasand, malgova and the Bombay Alphanso rule the roost
- are the most sought after and the sweetest varieties. Needless to add that their prices
are the highest too.
 Alphanso
and malgova range anywhere between Rs.10-15 in the wholesale market while banganapalli is
selling at Rs.6 depending on the size of the fruit. The bigger sizes are of course more
costly. In the retail outlets, the prices of these are still higher. But Anil maintains
that they are not earning too much of a profit margin as they buy directly from the
producers, once again according to per piece. Hence, not too much difference between the
cost price and the sale price. But overall the quality of the mangoes in the market is
good.
Incidentally the other mango varieties making the rounds of
the market are the udadha from Andhra, the jivadu also from the same place as also from
Salem, from where another variety is the sindura. Bangalora as its name suggests is from
Bangalore - a reddish coloured fruit that has a sweet sour taste. Other than that is the
kalapadi also from Salem. The pithar sells in baskets of about two and a half dozen and is
priced at around Rs.70.
 But
Abdul Karim another mango seller maintains that the production is high this year and hence
the resultant low price, though less alphanso’s are hitting the market this year.
‘Prices will reduce further during the peak season in June and climb still lower in
July when it’s closing time for the fruit," says Abdul. He feels that at the
moment more supplies are coming from Andhra than from the State itself. But this anomaly
will be rectified in June, when Tamilnadu will account for most of the supplies leading to
scaling down of prices.
Interestingly mangoes are being put to multiple uses in
homes to combat the summer heat - chilled milkshakes, ice-creams, desserts and other such
cooling dishes find ready acceptance with all family members.
 But
more than that is the medicinal quality of this delicious fruit. The mango seed has a rich
content of proteins, fat, mineral salts, vitamins and carbohydrates that keeps piles at
bay. The milk of the mango when mixed with coconut oil serves as a useful beauty aid
– an antidote for cracked heels.
So pull out all stops this summer and go for mangoes. Eat
mangoes, drink mangoes and live mangoes!
- Shobha Mathur
Pandian
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