Mangoes

The smell of the mangoes was just so heavenly. I never thought that I would ever smell them again. To tell the truth I had almost forgotten it. I had been away from the scene for almost 2 decades. The only reminder was whenever I obtained a single good mango in NJ, held it to my nose and took a whiff. It was so rare that it seemed strange…. It’s like some neuron in my brain would suddenly wake up to bring back all the memories of eating mangoes so long ago and would go back to sleep again. Now, I was walking in the madivala market along with a friend…. It is just the beginning of Mango season and it had already made its presence felt. The market which is colourful as is with all the veggies, green of the greens and various types of beans and squash, Red of the tomato, brown of the potato and ginger, purple of the onion and sweet potato, orange of the carrot and pumpkin and white of the garlic and radish…. Has suddenly become more colourful with the arrival of the mangoes …. A single fruit with all colours …. Except for the white and brown. But, right now the varieties of mangoes that have arrived are mainly yellow.
Growing up I only knew about maybe three varieties of mangoes… the raspuri, badami and alphonso. I didn’t even know about banganpalli… till my husband told me…. He grew up eating that and he doesn’t know about raspuri! Now, since I came back I am learning about all these different varieties like malgoa, sindoora, mallika, kalapad, rasaalu, and I am sure there are more varieties.
My grandfather had a mango grove so long ago in his village. I never got to spend time there because I was very young…. But my sister and cousins have spent a night in the watchman’s hut in the grove! She told me about how there was such a strong wind one day that the mangoes were shaken off their trees. My sister and our cousins had a fun time collecting all the mangoes that had fallen down. I don’t know how long ago she told me this, but even now I can imagine the grove with winds blowing … and my sister collecting the mangoes with her frock pulled to one side by the wind…. And my cousins bending down to pick the mangoes with a very happy face….hmmmm It is like a still photograph etched in my memory … although no one had taken any pictures that day  That grove was one of the first things to be sold, when the stream in our village started thinning out…. It was a very sad day for all of us.
Eating mangoes after every meal has become like a routine now. I am even more excited because my daughter also loves it so much…. She has it like a snack during the mango season. It is one of those times when I feel that moving back was a good idea… my daughter is able to experience some of the things I treasured growing up. I just love it when she eats a mango without using the knife or a peeler…. Just one hand and teeth 
Mmmmm all this mango talk tells me it’s time to eat a mango…. Bye now time to eat a mango….