Delhi food: Delhi ready for mango mania
The mango hasn't had an easy time this year what with unseasonal rains and dust storms hitting the crop across the country . Supply has been erratic and retailers are complaining of there being less fruit this time. "Is saal chausa aya hi nahin, dhang-ka (we didn't get good chausa this year)," gripes Jaiveer, who sells fruit in Hauz Khas. "There's 25% less supply this year and cartons that should come for Rs 100-120 are now worth Rs 200-250 ," he said.
There won't be any shortage of them at Dilli Haat Pitampura, however , where the 23rd Mango Festival begins on Friday. It'll be on till July 3. For mango lovers, the fest promises a rare treat: a chance to see, if not sample, 500 of the 1,000 mango varieties that India boasts of. These include sirki, neeleshwani, royal SP, suwarn, jahangir, Kensington, fazli, Bombay green and banganpalli. It will also have what Delhi Tourism officials call "unheard varieties" , such as sadabahaar, dakwala, elaichidana, karela rambhog and angoori tapka.
The festival might be worth a visit as the varieties of this 'king of fruits' generally available in Delhi markets are the commonplace ones. A Mother Dairy outlet in Gulmohar Park stocks only about 10 varieties, including safeda, langda, dussehri, totapari, neelam, amrapali and denga (a small mango usually sucked at). That, with a few variations (some stores have rittol, gulab khas), is about the standard list. "Alphonso has stopped coming. You get more in May," says attendant Gopal Singh.
Jaiveer's Hauz Khas stall stocks fewer (he still has alphonso, which he sells for Rs 150-180 per kg) and a neighbouring outlet of a retail chain, fewer still. CR Park's Maharaj fruit seller also says supply has been down this year. The langda variety is yet to reach some sellers in West Delhi. "We only have safeda and dussehri mangoes, as of now. People are asking for langda, but it'll only come in a couple of weeks," says Gaurav Malik of Prem Nagar fruit market, adding that prices are up this year. "Both safeda and dussehri were available for Rs 30 to 35 a kilo last year. But this year, both are Rs 50 a kilo," he says. In Hauz Khas, the price is Rs 50. Langda and dussehri are going for Rs 120 per kg in Khan Market , where no store appears to have more than two kinds.
Padma Shri Kareemullah of Maliahabad, Uttar Pradesh, a veteran mango-grower , has trumped the lot. He claims to have grown 250 varieties on a single tree and has planned a "large rare collection" for this year's festival.
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