President’s Message
Fellow Rotarians,
Very Warm Greetings!
HE VISITS MY TOWN ONCE A YEAR. HE FILLS MY MOUTH WITH KISSES AND NECTAR. I SPEND ALL MY MONEY ON HIM WHO, GIRL, YOUR MAN? NO , A MANGO.
-AMIR KHUSRAU
(Sufi musician, poet, scholar (1253-1325) and spiritual disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya, Delhi)
Mango, the quintessential summer fruit, the ‘King of Fruits’ and our national fruit is here! Mangoes have delighted people’s senses with their sweet fragrance and flavour for ages. While Indians have been cultivating this juicy fruit for more than 4000 years, the Western world has savoured it only for the last 400 or so.
Some varieties of Indian mangoes are – Alphonso/ Hapus (the King) from Maharashtra; Kesar & Vanraj from Gujarat; Totapuri/Malgova from Karnataka/Tamil Nadu; Baganpalli &Suvarnarekha from Andhra Pradesh & Ordisha; Himsagar from West Bengal; Dasheri, Langda & Ambika from Uttar Pradesh and Chausa from Himachal Pradesh.
Childhood memories include attempts to pluck raw green mangoes dangling from the trees and relishing them with a garnish of salt and chilli powder.
The range of special mango dishes in the Indian cuisine is aplenty – the aam ras or mango shrikand in the western states and usually teamed up with puris or mango lassi or the avakkai pickles, mango thokku and mango rice made in south India. Pickles/achaars are an inherent part of Indian meals. Pickles, sweet or spicy, are a given. Mangoes, both in their ripe and raw avatars form the core ingredient in many a mithai, sweet, savoury and spicy treats in the regional cuisines and the thirst quencher aam panna is a perfect drink to beat summer heat. Western cuisines too have mango cheesecakes, fresh cream and mangoes and other desserts. But, one must admit that nothing beats that feeling of biting through a freshly cut mango or sucking the juice out of a mango (an acquired skill).
Mango is also a healthy superfood packed with vitamins A, C, and K, minerals like copper, potassium and magnesium. It improves digestion, reduces acidity, boosts immunity, being rich in beta-carotene (a powerful antioxidant) reduces the effects of free-radical damage in our body, including eyes (preventing night blindness and dry eyes), the skin, contains anti-ageing properties, its dietary fibres help in weight loss by keeping hunger pangs at bay and improves digestion.
Mango leaves, often discarded, actually work as a great herbal medicine being full of healing and medicinal properties, help in fighting restlessness due to anxiety, treatment of gall and kidney stones, cure respiratory problems especially cold, bronchitis and asthma, treat dysentery, are remedy for ear aches, heal burns, stop hiccups, and good for the gut.
Mangoes have been granted a special position in India from ancient times. Termed as ‘Food of the Gods’, Mango is a source of celebration among people from all social backgrounds and symbolises attainment and prosperity. Mango blossoms are an integral part of Saraswati worship. The leaves of mango tree – for decorations on auspicious occasions; and between the kalash and the coconut for pujas with five mango leaves joined together is a mandatory component of Hindu rituals.
Mango is not only referred to in Vedic scriptures, but has importance in Buddhism too. Lord Buddha chose to rest under the shade of a mango tree and Buddhist monks carried mangoes with them everywhere. Alexander the Great is said to have returned to Europe with several varieties of the fruit.
The earliest name given to the mango was Amra-Phal. On reaching south India, the name translated to Aam-Kaay in Tamil, which gradually became Maamkaay due to differences in pronunciation. The Malayali further changed this to Maanga. The Portuguese were fascinated by the fruit on their arrival in Kerala and introduced it to the world as Mango. In fact, the English name of the fruit originates from the Portuguese manga, which in turn was borrowed from the south Indian Tamil word maam-kay.
The Alfonso mango takes its name from Afonso-De-Albuqurque, (a Portugese military expert who established a colony in India). Many of us may not know that in 1953, the Alphonso was shipped all the way from Mumbai’s famous Crawford Market to London for the Queen’s coronation.
Can anyone believe that in ancient India, the names of mango varieties were used by rulers to confer titles on people of eminence – example – Amra Pali the danseuse and courtesan of the kingdom of Vaishali – on which a Hindi film too was made of the same title.
Addicted to mangoes, the Mughal rulers Jahangir and Shah Jahan awarded their khansamahs for their unique food preparations like Aam Panna, Aam ka Lauz and Aam Ka Meetha Pulao, a delicate mango dessert sold all through the summer in Shahjahanabad.
Shah Jahan’s love for mangoes made him establish a courier system from the coasts of Mazgaon to Delhi. Aurangzeb used the Mango as a tool of diplomacy, when he had fresh mangoes presented to Shah Abbas, King of Persia, as a gift to placate him. From royalty to the ‘aam’ (common) man, mangoes have delighted one and all.
The tradition of gifting mangoes is an important one and continues even today in India.
This curvaceous shape of mangoes has been a fascination of weavers and designers as an iconic Indian motif in clothes designs, paintings and sculptures.
It is said that when Mirza Ghalib (Urdu and Persian Poet – 1797 – 1869) was asked about his eating preferences, his response to mangoes was:
AAM BAHUT MEETHE HONE CHAHIYEN… AUR BAHUT SEY HONE CHAHIYE! (MANGOES MUST BE VERY SWEET, AND MUST BE IN PLENTY!)
We couldn’t agree more!!
Preeti Mehta
President