Remembering the ''Mango Season''

Adapted from Kamala Dongerkery's "On the Wings of Time".

No one bought mangoes by the dozens in those days. The large beaked Kalami or grafted mangoes are famous in Dharwar and they were available in sekdas. Each sekda contained twenty-four handfuls, and each handful six mangoes. They would be counted with both hands, each hand picking up three mangoes at a time. If you bought a full sekda, you would get one handful more, bringing the total figure to one hundred and fifty. The best mangoes could be had for five or six Rupees a sekda.

The mango session was unique. We children presented an interesting sight, negotiating large mangoes. The yellow juice would be all over us, splashed over our faces, staining our clothes and some of it trickling down our elbows. Sometimes a delicious mango would slip down from someone's tiny hand to the ground with a thud. Sad, indeed!

In spite of these mishaps, we preferred to eat the mangoes wholely (without slicing it). And we had the option to continue eating until we had secured the sweetest fruit. No wonder we found fault with the first few. The session ended with our elders rushing us into the washroom for a timely scrub.

Pictures of Mangoes

© K.L.Kamat

Ready for the Palate
Picture of a ripe and inviting Mango fruit

© K.L.Kamat

A Ripe Mango
Mango is the "National Fruit" of India