` The last mango has disappeared from Sindh and Punjab
along with the blessed but receding monsoon. But the parrots screech and
the maina birds and sparrows still chirp sweetly. This time the
monsoon came with its true thick rumbling, ink-gray-blue curly clouds
that are so often seen in Mughal miniature paintings -the only thing
missing were the dancing peacocks. The Anwar Rataul mango from Meerut
has gone, presumably underground. The cells are dormant waiting to
multiply again with the next years spring blossoms.
Hardly had the onslaught of the "Anwar Ratual"
mango died than other fruits started to terrorize our gourmets. Hordes
of Grapes from Kandahar and pomegranates descended along with Jumbo
Honey melons "Garmas"] from Kabul. Pakistan during May to
October is a major victim of this cross border fruit terror.
Amidst this sheer oppression of fruits here, the mighty
consumers in the western supermarkets of Europe and North America are
free. Free from the sheer undemocratic onslaught that these fruits make
on ones senses and end up making one into a glutton, and if over eaten,
can make "curry in a hurry" seem like a mild affair of the
stomach.
Neither the grapes of Chile, California can compete with
the sheer sweetness and thinness and the sensual elegance of the
Kandhari grape. It is oval in shape with a slight rust colour along with
the grape green.
The red pomegranates have also a decidedly feminine feel
to it. Each of the hundreds of Pomegranates seeds look like a small
pearl encased in a translucent ruby stone; except that when you eat a
handful and squeeze them between your tongue and mouths roof, there is
nothing but the exquisite combination of a sweet and slightly astringent
juice that seems heaven has erupted. No wonder that the Hindi name for
the ritual of eating fruit is known as ‘mukh shudhi’
– or mouth cleansing.
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