Hark! The Mango-mania's back..!

Assalamu Alaikum dear friends..!! 
The earth is baked.. The Sun is blazing... It's fire, fiery fire everywhere..! And well, we know IT'S SUMMER!!! 
Every house yells for A.C... Every parched tongue craves for water... Every sun-dried soul searches the water-hole.. It's water, watery water everywhere...!
Moms and home-making Papas, latch their babies in their air-conditioned closets or in their console-designed android wares.. Whereas the employed Papas and Mommas are, nevertheless, the destined cave-beings who ought to be burning their daylight at the pressure-sealed tension chambers called 'office'...
It is this season of heat and electrified intensity, that brings us the fruit of paradise--MANGO! 

This fruit has had a very long history in Indian households..(no doubt it is from there that it derives the name).. "MAANGAI"="MANGO"..!  Mangifera Indica (the scientific name), a native to eastern India, was believed to be carried to the Arabian lands by the Persian traders. It was in the 1700s Mango was introduced to Africa and Brazil by the Portuguese. Finally, the succulent, juicy fruit's popularity reached the Mexicans, and then the Americans in the 19th century. In Indian Sanskrit literature, one can find the mention of Mangoes, as early as in the fourth century writings of Kalidasa. 
Arundhati Roy, gives life to her book "The God of Small Things", with the opening lines,

“May in Ayemenem is a hot, brooding month. The days are long and humid. The river shrinks and black crows gorge on bright mangoes in still, dustgreen trees. Red bananas ripen. Jackfruits burst. Dissolute bluebottles hum vacuously in the fruity air. Then they stun themselves against clear windowpanes and die, fatly baffled by the sun.”

Beyond mentions of its sagacity in texts hitherto, Mango does make a memorable dent in our lives, ain't it? In my case, the story goes like, when I was a kid, somewhere around the 1990s, our grandmother used to deny us from over-eating this fruit, as she thought it was the reason for the rashes on our faces.. "It is the heat," my grandmother used to say, "don't eat too many mangoes, or else you might need a doctor." We used to be so upset of not winning the prize, of getting at least one mango each, for ourselves. 

I still remember the basket of mangoes stacked up in layers, overlapping each other, along with the sweet-smelling cashew-fruits, in the corner of the kitchen. The basket was left there in the heat (to tempt us, I guess, hehehehe!), for the fruits to naturally ripen. It took days together to get one or two among the dozen, to ripen. I don't know how, but my grandmother used to predict when exactly it would ripen. She told the exact day.. the exact fruit which would be ready, and we used to wait eagerly (as well as patiently..) for the precious yield! Alas, this was reserved for the elders at our home, and rarely for us!

But yes, the mango kheer was an exception though..(hahaha!).. "Kheer is good for health.. full of energy and calcium..!," echoes my grandmother's words in my memories (she was our personal doctor in a sense, eh!, hehehe!!).. "kheer is not good for diabetics, like us.. its for you alone kids, so enjoy!" uttering this, she used to serve it to us in small bowls of china-clay, and I can still feel the touch of it... The bowl was as warm as her hug and smile.....!!

Those days were absolutely different... Entirely, fantastically, incomparably different.. a different different! Those mangoes were absolutely tasty and healthy as well. But, in this twenty-first century, it is not the grandmothers that stop the kids from having this elixir fruit! It is the pitiful Doctors.. Coz, they have no other go either... The ethylene compressed instant mangoes have lost all the sheen and values in terms of health. The consumers suffer from stomach ache, and severe digestion disorders. 

To identify good mangoes, from the harmful ones have become totally difficult..! The advent of diabetes, as an undeclared epidemic in our country, has already made the intake of mangoes impossible among the adults today..! Kids are endangered with the harmful effects of toxic fruits. Only aerated form of diluted mango extracts are advertised as potentially safe for us, in the markets.. Tetra-packed, Canned, and bottled syrups of mango flavored liquids have destroyed the very divine image of this golden-fruit, in the consumer's vision. With youth being brain-washed towards artificially flavored aerated drinks, it has become a threat for the millennial-parents to instill the juice of this wonder-fruit in their kids' minds.

Yet, education is needed on the benefits of this amazing fruit--Mango. The antioxidant properties in the fruit, helps prevent Cancer. High fiber, Pectin and Vitamin C, help in reducing cholesterol. Vitamin A improves eye health and the tartaric acid alkalizes the whole body.. And hey presto.. Ayurveda declares mango as a coolant for the body during summer. Good news for the teens, it gives a healthy glow to the skin from inside out. Vitamins like Riboflavine, folic acid and Thiamin, along with minerals like Magnesium, Zinc and Phosphorus, help pregnant woman in maintaining a good balance of nutrients in their body.(Warning: consult your physician for advice on the same)

With all such good things discussed about Mangoes, it is high-time that we as parents, as adults and as a society should realize the magnificence of this wonderful fruit. We should take measures to safely introduce naturally ripened mangoes often in our, as well as in our kids' diet, so as to promote a deliciously healthy way of living... Living, in harmony with Nature.. in harmony with Life..!!

Signing off,

With love,
Rasheeda Madani

Courtesy: momjunction; guardian; champagnemango; newyorktimesblog

Image Courtesy: Google