Call
me a fanatic but even after tasting
all the varieties of mangoes, I
still find “Maldah” to be the best.
Yummy! Slurp! - Kumod Jha - May
25, 2006
Yeah, but (the usual, customary
yeah/but argument) nothing like our
'Dudhia Malda' from Digha... :-)
Great article. Thanks for sharing. -
Aninda Bose - May 25, 2006
Indeed, Digha Malda is the best...
The aroma is just heavenly...
Wonderful article! Thanks -
Rakesh Kumar - May 25, 2006
Again a very good article and
certainly welcome relief from all
the quota hubbub and brouhaha. When
I was a kid around 9-10 years, I
used to travel miles in and around
my village in Nalanda with bunch of
friends on foot in scorching summer
heat to quench the palatal yearning
of mangoes, for the "khatte aam" in
the early summers and later for the
luscious and divine "pake hue aam".
Broiling and tropical "loo" didn't
matter, school and parents appeared
a minor irritant, gardeners and
mango tree owners were just another
obstacle barricading me from that
taste of divinity. After marshaling
all my intelligence, boundless
enthusiasm, fearless spirit and
never-say-die attitude for these
mangoes, I would find myself happily
climbing these huge mango trees and
jumping from one razor-thin branches
to another. Up there on the top of
the mango tree, I felt like I am in
the middle of heaven and all the
pleasure is mine. I would invariably
eat so many that my teeth would give
away. How could you control yourself
when you are ensconced with all
these mangoes all around yourself.
No one can eat just one. Many
evenings I used to get good
thrashings from my mom for all this
vagabond adventure of mine in such
sweltering summer. However, being a
humble mortal that I am, who was I to
resist this unstoppable force of
yearning and few days later, I would be back scouring miles for that perfect
taste of "khatte" aur "meethe aam".
The funny part is I didn't even know
today what kind of "aam" it was.
My adventure was cut short when I
had to move out to the city and then
to my amazement, I found out that
there are so many types of "aam".
Malda, Langra, Dusehari, Neelum,
Safeda, Fazali, Vanraj, yada yada
yada and more yada yada. If Malda
flavor was sweetest, then Langra
flavor long lasting and so on. It
appeared all very confusing and to
my horror, if I had one of these
famous cousins of my "gaon wala aam",
my cravings would just dwindle. I
could eat just one. Apparently I had
grown up and grudgingly, I
compromised for "Dudhiya Malda" as
my first choice.
It was like this till I was hooked
on to Alfonso. When I was in IIT
Bombay, I went to visit my
girlfriend's place in Ratnagiri one
summer, whose family had few Alfonso
trees in their backyard. Suddenly I
find myself looking at these ripe
mangoes hanging up there on the top,
inviting me, and lo and behold, I am
up there on the top in a second
tasting these luscious, ripe Alfonsoes. The taste was back and
once again, I couldn't just eat one.
Thank God for Mangifera indica L. -
Ravindra Kumar, Boston, USA - May
26, 2006
The best aam is Langra. The deep
soulful 'mango' taste of Langra
scores above the so called sweet
tasting mangoes that taste more like
sugar compared to a soulful tasting
Langra aam. - Rajendra Kumar -
May 26, 2006
It's emotional connection with
anything including mangoes, which
make it pleasant (taste). When i
pick a mango its remind me of my
childhood. Mangoes were one of the
foremost reason that I learnt
climbing trees. There are many
varieties of mangoes available in
the UK. Among them I feel Alphonso
is not that great as it is
projected. Basically it below
expectation. However, I must admit
that Pakistani honey mangoes are
very tasty and comparable to our
mangoes. - Manoj Kumar, London,
UK - May 27, 2006
Wonderful article Som Ji, thanks for
bringing the subject on board. But
we Biharis are not going to budge an
inch from declaring Maldah the pick
of the lot. However, as a compromise
formula we are ready to concede
Dussehri and Hapus second and third
place respectively.
Having said that, we should not
forget about other varieties like –
Shukul, Biju, Mithua, Sinduria,
Fazli, Sipia, Zarda etc.
I don't know what is the system of
selling Bagaicha now? Earlier whole
Bagaicha was treated as sola aana.
Then those interested were asked to
bid. I remember my father always
buying ek aana of the share. That ek
aana will yield 10-12 mans (1 man =
40 kg) of mangoes during the season,
enough for us.
Hope things are still the same.
Still, students coming from school
will toss a DHELA towards mango tree
for Tikola. Still after ANDHAD gaon
ki gorian will go to collect Tikola
and next day KHATAI will be made.
How does it feel sitting in an
Air-conditioned office room in Saudi
Arabia and talking about Chamuchak
ka Aam Ka Bagaicha?
Any answer??? - Anjum Parwej -
May 27, 2006
It's great and tasty debate. To
Biharis settled in USA it brings
nostalgia of the school summer
holidays spent in village mango
orchards. We are looking forward to
days of getting fresh Langra mangoes
and also Lychees of Muzaffarpur. I
hope Bihar govt will wake up to cash
this opportunity by providing
infrastructure and incentive to
farmers.
Debate of which state is better in
mangoes is typical of India where a
large population suffers from state
sub-nationalism and considers
everything from only his state to be
great.
Apart from exporting fresh mangoes,
Bihar govt should help quickly set
up fruit processing units through
which mango pulps and slices can be
exported for use beyond season.
Lychees can be exported in
preservatives without skins & seeds
beyond season. China is already
doing this. Pulps & slices of
Alphansoes are already in US market.
This step will improve the economy
of Bihar as export potential exists
in other countries also. Among other
Bihari specialty, 'SATTU' also is
not available in US. Bihar can
export this. It is popular not only
among Biharis but also among
Bhojpuri speaking people of UP and
some Bengalis. It will become
popular among other Indians also
once they know the health benefits
and great taste of Sattu Bhara
parathas. - Mithilesh Kumar,
Delmar, NY, USA -
May 28, 2006 |
