AAMBA

Our fairest one,

Beauty of the garden,

O finest fruit

Of Hindustan.

~ Moghul Emperor Babur, Babur-namah (1525)

Boy, cut these mangoes and prepare them in slices, because in that way they have, a better taste, and the chief thing is to soak them in wine, like nectarines.

~ Garcia da Orta, The Simples and Drugs of India (1563)

With its distinctive shape and succulent golden flesh the mango is perhaps India’s best-known fruit. Fortunately for Indians, the mango tree fruits in the hot summer months that precede the monsoon rains. As mangoes are highly effective against sunstroke, throughout India a variety or summer drinks are made from pulped mangoes to lower body temperatures and assuage thirst during this season.

Strained with black salt, molasses, and cumin, mango juice becomes panna. Mixed with milk the juice is turned into Mango Fool. The pulp is also used in decoctions for the treatment of diabetes and blood pressure problems.

Traditionally, ripe mangoes are kept in buckets of cold water. Not only does this ensure the fruit remains fresh, it also eliminates the turpentine resin in the stalk. Strongly scented, and with a slightly astringent taste in their sweetness, mangoes are rich in vitamin C. They are used in the Indian diet throughout the year. In summer when the body is losing salt through perspiration raw mangoes are sliced and eaten with salt, or they are pickled in oil and kept for the winter months as a useful antidote to colds.

But it is not just the fruit of the mango that is used in Ayurvedic medicine. Its twigs, being antiseptic, are used like toothbrushes, for oral hygiene. Infusions made from the bark are administered for diarrhea, and for excessive flow during menstruation. The large seed which defines the mango’s shape is ground into a powder for countering vaginal discharge, while the seed kernel has long been acknowledged as a cure for dysentery.

Excerpted from The Garden of Life by Naveen Patnaik.

Illustration: Painting titled ‘Mango tree’ , Oil on Canvas, by contemporary artist Lesley Blain, known famous for the use of bold, rich, mood-altering colours.