Sopan Joshi: The mango is India’s memory drive

Once upon a time, mango was a central part of the rural economy and it had an important role to play in cities, too, says Sopan Joshi. In a freewheeling interview, he tells us about his book Mangifera Indica: A Biography of the Mango, which took him eight years to write and research, and how India is home to as many as 1,000 varieties of mangoes, and much more. 

Village Square (VS): Any favourite memory from your research for the book? 

Sopan Joshi (SJ): My favourite memories of researching this book have to do with moments of clarity amidst a cat’s cradle of material. For example, reading through the literature on mango breeding, I found that Neelum, an ordinary variety from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, is a regular bearer of fruit (trees of almost all fancied mango varieties bear fruit only once in two years). I knew that Neelum is used in several breeding programmes. Amrapali and Mallika are both crosses of Dashehri with Neelum. 

The best available evidence indicates that the mango was present on the Indian tectonic plate 56-59 million years ago. The Indian plate, however, was located south of the equator at that time. The oldest mango fossils found from outside India are from after the Indian plate had collided with the Asian plate.

Instantly, I realised: that must be why it’s used in breeding experiments. When I met a well-known mango breeder, I asked him if that was the reason. He said yes. A puzzle had fallen in place! Such moments are valuable for each reporter when you figure out something that only insiders know otherwise. 

Also read: Nothing ‘aam’ about these mango varieties

VS: India boasts over a thousand mango varieties, as you’ve pointed out in the book. How do these diverse types reflect different regions?

SJ: Each variety comes from what scientists call a ‘chance seedling’. That is, somebody found a good mango in the wild and its seed got replanted. Since each mango seed is possibly a new variety, given the mango’s weird breeding character, horticulturists began to graft shoots of the fancied tree on top of seedlings. 

That’s how you get true-to-type varieties, which surmount the mango’s variable breeding character. But the mango still wins: fruits of grafts from the same tree show different traits when grown in different areas. That’s because the grafted tree also responds differently to different conditions of soil, ecology and environmental conditions. 

VS: Did mangoes originate in India? How did they come here?

SJ: Answering such questions requires us to abandon all cultural ideas and take a naturalist view—and that’s very inconvenient for us. The best available evidence indicates that the mango was present on the Indian tectonic plate 56-59 million years ago. The Indian plate, however, was located south of the equator at that time. The oldest mango fossils found from outside India are from after the Indian plate had collided with the Asian plate.

The mango is believed to be one of the many plants and animals that came from parts of the ancient southern supercontinent called Gondwanaland to Asia. In history, as we know it, the oldest evidence of consuming mangoes comes from the Indus Valley civilisation. 

VS: Could you talk about the significance of mango groves in traditional Indian villages and their impact on community life?

SJ: The mango grove has been central to all rural and urban life in most parts of India since ancient times. Till two generations ago, it was common for wedding parties or ‘baraats’ (the groom’s travelling party) to stay in a mango grove of the bride’s village. All manner of social and communal events happened in mango groves, from picnics to seasonal festivals to religious events. 

The mango groves began to be cut under the Zamindari system, beginning in the 1790s. Many were felled after India’s independence. Almost all our mango groves are now gone.

Also read: Meet the emperor of the king of fruits in Malihabad

VS: How do various Indian communities celebrate the mango season, and what cultural significance do these festivities hold?

SJ: The great mango festival (especially in central and northern India) was in the spring when the tree flowers were in bloom, not in the summer, when its fruits are seen. Mango groves hosted what was India’s greatest festival, lasting more than two months. This was the spring festival called Vasantotsava or Madanotsava. 

In ancient times, it was dedicated to Kamadeva, the Vedic deity of love and desire and procreation. Over the ages, the festival transformed around the deities Saraswati and Krishna. This is why in several traditional lunar calendars, the new year begins in the spring. 

VS: Your book mentions various historical figures’ fondness for mangoes. Could you share a couple?

SJ: Really, the mango is India’s memory drive. Most historical figures are linked with the mango. The Mughal ruler Aurangzeb is in the news these days. He is mentioned to have named two mango varieties Sudha Ras (nectar) and Rasna Vilas (luxury of the tongue). The Mauryan king Ashoka left edicts in which he claimed to be a benefactor of the ordinary people because he had planted mango groves for them. 

The mango was used to spread Buddhism across India and Asia. Buddha himself was depicted as a golden mango atop the entrance of the Buddhist vihara in Sarnath, as recorded by the Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang  in 637 CE.

VS: What are some of the challenges faced by mango cultivators today, and how can we address these issues?

SJ: The biggest is indifference. Most mango orchards in India are owned by ‘absentee landlords’. They sell the crop to a contractor in advance for one or two seasons, sometimes five, and obtain a fixed income from it. 

The owners have no interest in the long-term health of the orchard. The contractor, having made a big investment, is desperate to obtain a return. In their desperation, most contractors use methods that damage the orchard in the long run. 

Really, the fruit bought in the market, over which so many people wax eloquent, comes there through a chain of indifference, neglect and unscrupulousness. But such is the appeal of the mango that each city still holds mango festivals, which are very successful events. Really, the story of the mango is the story of India in many ways!

Also read: Kesar mangoes travel from Nashik’s tribal farms to US supermarkets

The lead image at the top shows a tree laden with mangoes, India’s favourite fruit. (Photo courtesy of freepik.com)

Anuradha Varma is a freelance journalist and hosts the podcast Swishing Mindsets.