A tribute to alphonso
The other day I was travelling by rickshaw from Andheri to Bandra.
Amidst the acid pollution and killing traffic of Andheri-Kurla Road (the busiest road in Mumbai), the pleasant sight of 24 ripe mangoes sitting atop a box of hay, sent the endorphins in my being, into a tizzy.
It was 8:30 pm and a road-side hawker was fervently scouting for a willing customer to buy the last of his wares.
My excitement was less about the alluring taste of the alphonso, and more about the natural, bright hues that broke the monotony of the synthetic, concrete jungle around.
What a contrast…I was quite mesmerised!
I asked the fruit-seller for his price. “Rs 200,” he said. I haggled for Rs 150 and he agreed.
And there I was with a box of 24 mangoes in my hands. I admired them for about ten minutes. And then it dawned on me that I would not be able to consume 24 mangoes!
Nevertheless, I was quite content with my purchase. I proceeded home and as I entered my house, my landlady also mesmerised by 24 alphonsos, followed me into my room, watching them closely, possible trying to determine the breed.
I would have given her some but had to dash off to meet a friend. About half an hour into the conversation, my roommate texted me. Her message: ” Are these beauties for consumption?”
Yes, I texted back. When I returned home that night there were only 22 mangoes.
The next day, I took five to office (only 17 remaining), had them sliced up and distributed to all mango lovers. They dissappeared in a jiffy.
When I returned home the count was down to 15, as the roommate had gobbled down two more.
I suddenly realised I handn’t had even one yet. So, on Sunday I sliced up 4 mangoes and my roommate, landlady and myself had a mango feast for breakfast.
11 remaining.
I gave two more to the maid, an emaciated looking soul who alternates between looking like ET and Dobby (little elf from Harry Potter).
I had one for breakfast this morning.
Eight to go.
These will dissappear in a jiffy.
That’s because no one can possibly resist an alphonso – though it’s a visual delight, it’s even more delicious to eat.
ahh at last someone wrote abt alphonso mangoes… it was long overdue.
I loove mangoes, beam some up!
Mmmmm…. we had mangoes to snack on that night we were upgrading Websphere MQ Series a couple weeks back. I swear it worked at least as well as Mountain Dew for giving me what I needed to stay awake.
That and the music….
Hey Maya, the next time you come to Mumbai…we must indulge in some mango magic.