President’s Message
THE KING OF FRUITS
Mango is the King of Fruits. The coveted title is largely to do with its seasonal availability. (Yes, we can get it yearround now, but we all also know that those are just watered down versions).
It beats any other fruit, exotic or otherwise, in its demand and versatility.
Mango as a fruit is amazing. It brings memories from childhood of happiness and joy and pimples. And there is aam ras, aam panna, aam papad, icecream, kulfi, candy, kadhi, cheesecake, tart, yogurt, soufflé, jam, lassi, milkshake…the list goes on and on. Each having their own magic that can lead us down memory lane.
Genetic analysis and comparison of modern mangoes with Paleocene mango leaf fossils found near Damalgiri, Meghalaya, indicate that the centre of origin of the mango genus was in the Indian subcontinent prior to joining of the Indian and Asian continental plates, some 60 million years ago. Mangoes were cultivated in India, possibly, as early as 2000 BCE.
As I dig into my scoop of fresh mango icecream, I’m happy that we actually do have a claim on mangoes… just like we do aapri Rani and aapro Freddy Mercury.
Framroze Mehta
President