Come summer and Salem, one of the largest producers of mangoes, is flooded with the pulpy fruit. The incredible array of fruits captivates and tickles our tastebuds. The crowded narrow market place and Lee Bazaar is redolent with the aroma of mangoes.
“Have you heard of Salem gundu?” shot a mango-seller. I replied that I am aware of only fat people (gundu manushanga) and not mangoes. It is called Salem Bengalura and is a special variety synonymous with Salem.
The fruit merchants harvest the mangoes from the nearby orchards on the foothills of Yercaud. In fact, the owners of the orchard rent it out to the sellers who employ a watchman to keep a vigil on the mangoes.
Krishnan, proprietor of popular Crown Nursery, owns mango orchards and is into this business for three generations. He evens packs the fruits and sends them to far-off places. This year’s yield is much better than last year’s, opine the merchants.
We can see that some sellers have dished out kooru mangai which attract the buying public.
‘Naduchalai’ called ‘grapes’ in Madurai, is littered around Salem and is a popular variety. This variety of mango has a unique and a distinct odour. The redoubtable alphonsa has also found a place in the markets but it is slightly more expensive than the rest of its cousins.
Women crowd around the ‘avakkai’ man to cut the mangoes to prepare the mouth-watering spicy ‘avakkai’ pickle but is there anything to match the luscious Banganapalli? Kilimooku manga is preceded by maa vadu as Salem vadu mangai has found a place in the world map. Similarly, rumani and neelam have tried to mingle with the other varieties.
Even on the outskirts like Hasthampatti and Karuppur, mangoes are littered down the lane.
Mango season exudes warmth which seduces everyone and there is a popular Tamil axiom: If a mother cannot feed, mangoes can.
Hema Nagarajan
Salem
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