Monday 15 June 2009

Mango Memories

I opened the refrigerator & reached for the mangoes. My hand fumbled around & finally found a small squashed one. I hesitated for a few seconds wondering if it was worth the trouble cutting just one for the kids. They were sure to make a huge fuss for more. Instead I could make some chicken mayo sandwiches for them & they didn’t have to know anything about the mango. Yes I’ll do that.

While I was toasting their sandwiches my eyes returned back to the lone mango sitting forlornly on the middle of the counter. It was the last of Pakistani mangoes which we had picked up last week. For those who haven’t had Pakistani Mangoes till today I must tell that they are so sweet that you must eat one to believe the saccharine flavor. After my throat infection & fever, food was tasting like sawdust but this cold, sunny looking mango was sitting there & making eyes at me.

I picked it up & scrutinized it for any unsightly spots. It was a bit squashed but didn’t look bad. It reminded me of my childhood holidays in Kerala where all of us cousins used to ceremoniously sit in front of a sackful of mangoes, pick the squishiest ones out, squash it some more by gently hitting it against the wall, then make a small opening on the top of the mango & suck the pulp out…….I involuntarily swallowed in remembrance.

I washed the mango, then gently beat the mango against the counter to smash the insides, made a slit on the top & put my mouth against the tiny cut & the sweet taste of childhood spilled into my mouth when….

Nikita[from behind]: What are you doing Mama??????

Mama[spins around guiltily, shielding the mango from view]: Nothing

There is no hiding from Nikita. She is like my conscience. Just last week I made cookies & then spent 20 minutes wondering where to ....ahem hide them. Nikita walked in after school, sniffed the air & announced “You made cookies!!!!!!” and proceeded straight to the place where I hid them & pulled the box out. I stood there wondering why I even bothered to hide them….nextime I’m just going to leave them on the counter, maybe then she’ll search the whole house & give up.

I show her the mango & half-heartedly ask her whether she’d like to eat the pulp like I was going to.

“Eeeewwwww” She shudders

I look enquiringly.

“Mama, it looks like its spoilt, throw it away” advises Nikita.

“No, its not…here, taste some, its yummy. I used to eat it like this when I was really small” I angle the mango towards her mouth.

“Didn’t you have knives to cut them with, in your childhood???” backing away, Nikita asks in pity, like as if we lived in pre-historic times.

“Don’t be silly, when I was little we loved to eat them like this....here just try some and see” I try to convince her.

Nikita does some quick thinking & says generously “Mama, you have it, we’ll eat the sandwiches.”

She hurries out of the kitchen with her plate of sandwiches just incase I change my mind & make her eat it.

I could hear her voice in the living room telling her sister “Naina, you know when Mama was small they didn’t have knives to cut the fruits with”.

I resisted the temptation to yell out that we did & stood there wondering whether to feel happy that I got the whole mango to myself or sad that my children don’t even want to know about the kind of fun I had when I was small, tearing the skin of the mango with our teeth, getting our hands all gooey with the sweet juice running down till the elbows, gnawing & extracting the last of the flesh till we saw the white of the hard seed, with the teeth tingling in remembrance long afterwards.


What is your favourite Mango Memory??????????

59 comments:

  1. Reading this post you have made me believe that some things just doesnt change in us... even if we become wife, mom or granny :)

    hmmm... mango memory??? :-) :-)

    we had 2 mango trees at my house and almost all the time my mom used to end up givin it away to the passersby and neighbours. Though my favourite fruit the only time I would remember enjoying a mango is when I lived away from home for a few days in an ashram. The whole campus was full of mango trees and they had almost all the varieties. The laborers used to get them in sacks and we, a team of girls used to enjoy eating them one after the other. We used to wear white clothes those days and so by the time all the juice sucking sessions are done, our salwars would have become yellow and dirty. :D But then nothing would stop us from enjoying the mangoes, again the next day... ooh.. it was so much fun.

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  2. Cut,slice - do whatever; its real fun when we have the mango this way. We friends use to meet up outside in our garden and eat mangoes together every night all thru the season. It was almost like our dinner all thru the mango season. Sweet Memories :)

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  3. Where are my mangoes????............

    Its gone!! poyindey!! poye poyidichu!! poiyee!!! that was the answer we used to give to our cousins whenever my grandfather brings mangoes.What can you expect when you have more than dozen kids have their hands on a mango basket!

    Cutting and eating mangoes?? Oh! What a pity??? Good that I was not educated how to eat mango until my marriage!!

    Not only Mango, do you know "Nungu"( the palm fruit), jackfruit or any eatable.....""it was there a seconds ago""....always.

    Thanks for bringing back those childhood memories Nancy. Take care!! keep well

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  4. Your daughters are going to beat you at your own game Nancy. I love them both. So adorable. And really? you didn't have knives when you were a kid??? ha ha ha. Enjoy the mangoes lady!

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  5. We had a mango tree in our house... but we would still go to other bungalows and steal mangoes... !! tat was most fun... we would never let anyone pluck a mango from our tree... and all three brothers would religiously pluck the mangoes and put them in grass and get them ripen... !!

    the fun was we three bros would be made to sit in the verandah's in our baniyan's to eat this mangoes... exactly how they shoudl be eaten... I still love it eating the original way... !!

    they are my most most favourite fruit... !!!

    pieces of mango with Vanilla ice-cream taste most yummy... toooo

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  6. Your post rekindled some mango memories indeed.

    Actually raw mangoes memory.
    Sneaking into where mango trees had been "sold" . Using a home made catapult to knock a few raw mangoees off and run before the watchman came. Cut it (yes we had knives !) and dust it with salt and chilli powder . Delicious. Stolen mangoes were always tastier than legally gotten ones ....

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  7. After reading somewhere in ur blog or comments i got these paki mangoes one day but they weren't as good as u said.. I am yet to spot the yummiest ones here.. till then making up with mango flavored ice cream scoops at my end.. :( So, please dont remind me of mango memories..

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  8. I prefer raw mangoes to ripe ones. We used to steal them and cut them with a balde reserved specially for that purpose and eat it with salt and red chilli powder. Yum! Mouth is watering now :P
    :)
    Cheers
    preeti

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  9. SandhyaS: "Reading this post you have made me believe that some things just doesnt change in us... even if we become wife, mom or granny :)"
    U know Sandhya u immediately reminded me of my mum who loves mangoes, we always tease her tht she's had so much in her childhood but she still shows the same enthusiasm to eat them even now;-D.
    And ur mango memories are lovely:-))!!!!!

    Swaram: Ur mango memory sounds like so much fun tht I almost wish I was there with u;-)).

    Maddy: Seriously...our stomachs used to be bottomless pits then. And competition was fierce;-D. Children these days dont even know what hungry pangs are...they just keep making noises & getting cranky but dont know that they r doing this bcoz they r hungry;-/.
    Thank U for sharing ur Mango memory, I enjoyed reading it;-))!!!!!!

    GM: The way they act u'll start wondering if we lived in some stone age or something;-D.
    U didnt mention ur MM?????

    Hitchwriter: Since I already read ur cherished memories I had no problem imagining ur mango memories. Ur brothers & U sure took the phrase 'lets have fun' very seriously;-D

    Ramesh: Oooh ur MM are just like how it happens in the hindi serials...I can imagine them so clearly. U must have had super fun. ur comment kindled some of my memories of raw mangoes....nothing as adventurous as urs but of a vendor in front of our school who used to mint money selling raw mangoe slices with chilli pwdr & salt....mmmmmm. But now when I see them I shudder in fear...they look so dirty & their knives look so rusted;-D

    Mindspace: Aaah u have to be careful.....some of them are 'force' ripened before they've matured properly. They taste very watery.
    U knw there's a mango festival going on in Lulu right now...there will be stalls[at certain times of the day] which let u taste mangoes from all countries. Try it!!!

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  10. U must have laughed wickedly after Nikita abandoned that mango in favor of sandwiches. U must have made some yucky faces too to reinforce what you had to say. You wicked, wicked woman!

    LOL abt the knife thing!

    Mango memories.... I had to give up eating mangoes for about 3 years. When I was pregnant and for the two years later that I breast-fed my daughter. I cursed everybody who got to eat them and then when I could eat, I ate them like a mad woman!

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  11. finally kothichi amma wins, eh! I too have memories of mango eating sessions, I used to love it sour and unripe. We used to cut mangoes and sit near the kollam eating it with chilly powder and salt mixed together...it was so spicy and yummy and sour!

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  12. My mom will sit with a whole plateful, scraping the flesh from the skin & seed & generally eating off as much as possible & my sis & me will be staring at her coz she's always after us never to overeat, but here she is doing just that!!! Then she looks at us with pity like we don't know what we're missing out on & she's so content with her mangoes she'll keep insisting we try some. I do like them, had a good one just last night in fact, but I don't luuurve them the way you & my mom do :P

    Oh lol on Nikita with the superb sniffing sense!!!! Good for her :D

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  13. We still get to eat mangoes in the summer...every summer. Every season has different memories...used to take the peel off the mango whole and eat holding the fruit in one hand and a plate under it. Now others cut it for me and I sort of prefer it that way now. Too darn lazy! :) Still, nothing beats childhood memories of eating a mango after lunch every holiday with a gang of cousins.

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  14. Fantastic post as usual. I too have to eat in secret so I don't have to share my food with my dog. It's become so bad that his ears stand in full attention if I so much as apply lip balm - this after eating a full meal!!!

    As for mangoes - it was a rarity in SA but when we did, we ate it just like you described it. My mum taught us to suck the juicy pulp out and it would dribble down our arms to our elbows. This one time I chased a drop down my arm with my tongue only to find a room full of people looking at me with disgust. I just grinned.

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  15. Oh wow! Mango memories! Your kiddoes dont know what they are missing! As a kid I always loved to help momma make aam ka ras and eating the "seed" was a privilage we all used to fight for it.. even dad n mom :D :D We are big time foodie more than that big time eaters of fruits! And as someone mentioned.. nongu is tasty too esp in the summer afternoon.. but my fav mango memory would be.. while I stayed with my aunt...

    Ah you know what am gonna take it as a tag and write it on my blog :D :D

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  16. I have had my fair share of mangoes while growing up :P but I dont have any particular story :(

    ROFL at nikita and "She is like my conscience"............
    ROFL........

    ebthayalum, hope you enjoyed that last pakistani mango..... :P

    since it is mango season now, about 2 weeks back, we all went to an indian res. here and I had about 7-8 cups of aam ras :P

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  17. There is no other way to eat Mangoes Nancy! I want Mangoes now...

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  18. Awwwwwww I swallowed too! You took me back to the days of the lil green mango - sweet, pulpy and so juicy. For our summer vacations, my dad will skin a few mangoes for dessert, all my cousin and us would watch him and as he cubes the mangoes, we eat! The elders rarely get any! ;-) Beautiful post Nancy - it took me back to my childhood days in Kerala too!

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  19. I have tonnes of mango memories but my favorite ones are eating properly squished 1 no no 2 noo 3 nooo 4 nooo atleast 5 mangoes a day by tearing off one side wth my tooth. These were mangoes from my uncle's backyard and while I was staying with him for my summer project, he would not let me get up from the dining table without eating atleast 3 during one meal!

    Then with my dad squishing the mangoes just too well for me, I would not even have to bother about the seed. All the pulp would just come out with his perfect hands! I try it so many times, I fail!

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  20. Preethi Shenoy: Raw mangoes remind me of the thothapuri mangoes which came without the usual sourness associated with raw mangoes. Chilli pwdr & salt liberally spread on the slices & they just disappeared off the plate;-D.

    Butterfly: No for a change I was a bit sad...kids these days dont like the stuff we liked. Mine are a bit weird I sometimes think...they dont like laddoos, pakoras, jaggery, unniappams or any of the savouries we so loved;-o??????
    Abt ur MM...I didnt know tht;-o

    Sindhu: U knw my mum used to wince watching us biting into raw, sour mangoes without flinching a bit. Now the same teeth are showing wear & tear;-(. Are urs treating u well??
    Enjoyed reading ur MM:-))!!!!!

    Shalom: ooohhh my mum was the same....& my sis & I wd be grinning at eachother. I too am very fond of the fruit & can have for brkfast, lunch & dinner;-P.
    Nikita sniffing sense will get her into trouble 1 of these days. Sometimes she just sniff at a particular dish I make & decides she doesnt like it;-/

    The Idle Devil: "Every season has different memories..."
    So true...infact for me it is every place has diff memories associated with it...in Kerala with cousins, in Bangalore with family, in Chennai with friends, in Dubai with husband & children...what a wonderful thought, really!!!!!!

    Shades of Grey: LOL abt ur dog & lip-balm....it brings back memories of my dog who used to stand on 2 legs & peek thru the windows to check when she had doubts we were munching on something;-D
    And ur MM was lovely...cd almost taste the drop ur tongue was chasing;-D

    Winnie the Poohi: "Your kiddoes dont know what they are missing!"
    I so agree with u here...they r missing out on all the fun stuff. And do put ur MM up as a tag. I wd love to read it:-))!!!!

    OG: So glad u had a good laugh at my expense;-P.
    U knw I havent ever had aam ras....I mean I've had mango juice, mango smoothie, mango milkshake but aam ras, somehow I've never tried it. Will definitely look out for it now;-D

    Rakesh: All tht is fine but u havent mentioned ur MM?????

    thethoughtfultrain: U knw I was just thinking of those small green squishy mangoes when I wrote my post:-). And somethings dont change....even now when we cut mangoes the kids manage to gobble them faster than we cut them;-P.

    Rohini: "he would not let me get up from the dining table without eating atleast 3 during one meal!"
    Wow..ur father & uncle both sound so wonderful!!!!
    What lovely memories!!! Ur enjoyment shines thru ur MM. Thank U for sharing:-))

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  21. Mango memories are the best in the world. And even today, I eat mangoes as though I've never eaten them before. Really, I try to take the ripest one, before anybody sets their eyes on it and if I cut mangoes for some body, I'll make sure I lick till the end of my arm and the seed and juices that dripped while cutting - OMG, finger licking good.
    I too have stolen mangoes (raw ones), cut and eaten with salt and chilli powder.
    And I love mangoes with curd rice (hehehe, dont laugh at this combo). Since my S makes faces at me, for eating this combo, I try and eat behind his back.
    And many more.....

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  22. lol this is such a tempting post:)

    You reminded me of the 'chuski aam' and trust me Aaj ki generation doesn't even now about th half the joys of eating with hands :-)

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  23. Oh Nancy, I just love you! :) Well I`ve never had Pakistani mangoes, infact never heard of them until now! :) Your post brought back fabulous childhood memories - sneaking into the kitchen while the rest of the family(read Ma) was asleep and digging my teeth into one fat juicy mango. Hands and face dripping with the juice! Yumm! :) Its been ages I`ve had a mango like that. Dont you think it tastes better if you eat it that way? :):)

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  24. I'm drooling slurpppp!

    and then I giigled like a small kid..picturing you saying " Nothing" :) priceless

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  25. Nancy, you wicked mother. Ha..ha..ha.. I am laughing so hard here.

    "Didn’t you have knives to cut them with, in your childhood???” backing away, Nikita asks in pity, like as if we lived in pre-historic times."

    These kids..I tell you.

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  26. Oh another bit of my MM totally slipped my mind - the fight for the mango seed! It got so bad that my dad cut as many mangoes as there were kids in the house (which is really high during summer hols - as much as 12 at a time!! A not to myself - My dad totally deserves a Fathers Day post !! )

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  27. absolutely echo my sentiments! Slobbering over mangoes was the highlight! The other one is surreptitiously climbing the mango trees in my grandparents garden to pluck raw mangoes, only to be shouted at by the gardener....but not before we got our hands on one and doused it in salt and red chilli powder! ok, my mouth is watering now!!
    Nice blog you have! Will add you to my bloglist... do visit my blog when you can!

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  28. after lunch,the three of us, ma my sister and me, we had to have mangoes and just the way you described.. suck it till the seed was white.. no other way of eating it is as much fun
    infact i was having a mango shake while reading this post :)

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  29. I love the Unripe ones, Actually me and my frnds where little adventurous, Like James Bond we will plan everything and steal mangoes,..from the neighbors garden..and after the success we flavor salt and chilli above the cut mangoes ..yummmy....My mouth is watering now...:p...I love mangoes...and spl the stolen ones...:p

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  30. Umas: How I laughed reading ur comment;-D.....ur love for mangoes shines thru & thru. I too love mangoes but never hrd of curd rice & ripe mangoes combination till today...eewwww;-D.

    Smita: So agree with u. Aaj ki generation is bit weird in my opinion....they dont fancy any of the savouries we used to die for in our childhood;-/.
    Hehe just remembered tht even our parents must have thot the same abt us;-D

    Piper..: It tastes sweeter maybe because we are also reliving our memories of chilhood thru tht...dont u think so!!!!!

    A: Have mercy girl...food was tasting so bland after my flu tht I had set my heart on the mango;-)).

    Solilo: I feelingly echo ur words..."These kids..I tell you."
    And I've heard from people that the worst is yet to come;-o.

    Thethoughtfultrain: Hehe at home in b'lore 3 of us used to fight..my sister, I & my mum;-D. Will be over to read ur fathers day post..he sure deserves one;-)).

    Roshni MC: Enjoyed reading abt ur MM. I'm glad u like my blog. Thank U for blog-rolling me:-).

    ISH: Enjoy the milkshake...even today there's again only 1 mango remaining, I'm planning to extricate myself by making a yummy milkshake out of it & impressing them;-P

    Prabodh: I was just thinking why stolen mangoes seem to taste better...maybe bcoz we expend some thinking & energy into getting them. Then chase by the gardener makes it all the more adventurous. So its more like success tasting sweeter;-D

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  31. hmmm mangoes....after being in UAE for more than an year...you know I am still struggling to adjust...mangoes came as the saving grace....encouraging me to like UAE...becos I love mangoes and here I was having them after 12yrs of gap and they are of the best of quality and taste...

    Yeah mangoes do bring back the childhood memories...sitting around the place with the best of Mangoes soaked in a bowl of water to eat...but we use to squeeze them round and round with our hands...and from you....I learnt a new way of hitting them against the wall to soften them...and most of the time Dad use to do it for us and hand them to us while we patiently wait for him to do it, one by one and Mom use to handover a small cup of milk to everyone to take after having mangoes...it was meant to lessen the heat of the mangoes and we never questioned the logic behind it...now I find myself gulping few sips of cold milk after a mango....and I do not attempt to offer it to anyone else as I do not myself know the logic behind it and with this new generation....no act is accepted/ passed without the logical explanation attached to it right??

    Although I gals do not have the tastebuds to appreciate mangoes, I pity them though.

    Well...Happy Mango eating all :)

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  32. ahh mangoes, i am just crazy abt them... I just pick it up each time i go to the supermarket etc and cant handle not buying it... And now we hav Pakistani Honey Mangoes which my dad gets for me often... And ya childhood and even now, i love to eat those naadan mangoes in that real naadan way...heheh...My mango memories r just too many...had too many varieties of mangoes in my grandp[arents place and used to eat so much of it, even used to make a juice pul out of it and keep it in freezer and eat the cubes and wat not...
    but after reading Butterfly's comment i am wondering y she couldnt eat magoes during preg time..humm i am preg now and eating so much of mangoes...

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  33. the same memory! i remember summer was the time when all the cousins and aunts would visit the grandparents. i remember sitting in the backyard, being messy and sucking on the mangoes :D

    infact, my mother shares the same memory too!

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  34. Well, my memory is that me and my brother used to sit out in the verandah of our house on a raised platform and finish the food quickly so we could devour the mango. The rule was one of us would make two shares of the Mango while the other would get to choose. Turned out fair like this :)

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  35. You just made my mouth water and heart yearn for home.

    Here goes my memories:-
    (i) Definitely the summer holidays when we were kids. First thing after getting up in the morning, even before brushing our teeth, run to the "parambu" with a basket in each hand to collect the mangoes which had fallen in the night. Come back and count who got the most :-)

    (ii) My grandmother sitting with her legs stretched out on a bench squeezing out the mango pulp for her out of the world "maanga thera"

    (iii) Sucking the "chakiri maanga" the taste of which cannot be compared to all the alphonsos of this world.

    Mango trees also taught us even trees have feelings. There were some 18 mango trees of different types and ages at my father's place, all planted and nurtured by my grandmother. You won't believe it, the year she passed away, none of these 18 bore fruit!!

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  36. Hey !!

    I'm fine .. (replying to your question in your previous post ;-) )
    How have you been?

    I like your mango story. I am the sorts who can eat 'n' number of raw mangoes with the chilli powder-salt mixture.. sinful !!!!!!!!!
    Mango is certainly the king of fruits :D whatsay!

    cheers,
    Rohitha

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  37. Oh Nancy, I loved this post!

    Nikita is so freaking cute.... :-D

    Mangoes are the best!

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  38. Just try the combo once. Before eeewww, you'll say WOW !

    BTW, Nikita is so cute. And they are waiting to cast us as tribal. No knives, ehh ?????

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  39. like i say - popcorn has to b stuffed into the mouth, chocolate must b licked from the wrapper and milk powder rite from the mid palm, curd rice has to b from my moms' hands!

    ppl tease me wen i say this, but everything has its flavor wen eaten the rite way!!!! kids will kno it wen they grow up i guess :)

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  40. I enjoyed reading this!
    You definitely have a great flair in writing!
    Not that you needed to hear from me! but just wanted to let you know!

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  41. Mango----Back at home,I used to eat 1/2 a dozen a day(to avoid eating away by cousins) and complain of stomach ache the next morning. Ha, how I miss those days.These days, no cousins, no competition....Hmm!but,mangos are still tastier.....

    And, You daughter is................what shall i say?

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  42. Nancy,I'm drooling here!Your post made me realize that I'm yet to have real good mangoes in this season.
    They are my favourite and to know how you got one to eat all for yourself makes me envious!

    You're right,N!Its a euphoric pleasure to hold one full mango in your hands, cut the edges with your teeth and just suck the essence in. I used to gorge on those Daseris.
    Here those kinds are hard to find.The huge Safedas are more prominent ones.

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  43. BTW,you've been tagged :)

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  44. Sadiya: Eating them after 12 yrs gap????? U mean they never had mangoes in New Zealand;-o.
    Actually even our elders used to squeeze them with their hands but impatient lil kids didnt have time to waste;-P
    Milk after mango huh...interesting really. Enjoyed reading ur MM Sadiya:-)).

    Enigma: Oh dont listen to Butterfly;-D.....I had loads of mangoes when I was pregnant & u may not believe but my child emerged a pale golden color[swarna nerum as they say in malayalam] smelling faintly of mangoes;-D

    N: Really???? Oh must have been so much fun. I'm enjoying myself so much reading about everybody's Mango Memories;-D

    Rakesh: I love tht funda...1 cuts & the other gets to choose...u knw I always wanted to be the one to choose...coz the person who cuts never can cut that accurately;-D

    Wanderlust: Ooooh such lovely memories...
    i) We used to do tht for cashews
    ii) I've never had maanga thera..really want to knw how it tastes.
    iii) I agree, I agree;-D
    Wow 18 types of trees....actually my mom's house in kerala also had a lot of mango trees..infact her house was called 'Manthottathu Veedu'.
    And really amazing to read abt the trees not bearing fruit when ur grandmom passed away.
    Thank U for sharing this with me:-))!!!!

    lostworld: I was a bit off-color but now much better.
    And I agree, I agree, no 2nd thoughts abt tht;-D!!

    Agnes: Thank U but I'm so disappointed...u dont have MM's to share;-(??????

    Umas: ok, ok I believe u;-D!!
    Yeah she even finds it difficult to believe that we all went to kindergarten;-P

    Winnie: Already read them...u've written it beautifully:-))!!!!!

    Former Sansmerci: What a beautiful scene u conjured up for me in ur 1st para...loved it:-)).

    Vinoo John: U dont have to worry abt tht. I never ever tire of hearing such beautiful compliments;-D

    Savitha: 6 mangoes at 1 go???? U r giving a complex;-o.
    The word u r searching for incorrigible;-D!!!!!

    Deeps: U knw it makes me realise just how much our mothers sacrificed coz we are doing the same now....eating just edges & bits of a mangoes while cutting them so tht the kids get to have more. Its not like we cant eat them but we still hoard it for the children:-)).
    Thank U for the Tag...will TRY to do it soon;-P

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  45. I am writing this Mango memory crossing my fingers and hoping that none of my cousins ever come over to your blog. Well like you, we all used to gather around mangoes and eat them squashing and all. One day I got delayed reading a book and came to find all of them with happy mango juice fingers and no mangoes left in the sack. Here I will refrain from using words to describe how enraged I was..
    So I stand there all snarling and ready to whine when I see one of my motu cousin still holding a little mango in his hand squeezing out the juice..I ran and bit it off his hands and ammo there was such a huge yell from him that I almost swallowed the whole mango. Later it was found that very mysteriously one of his fingers were half bitten...

    Nopes I still stand by what I said that day "I did not bite his finger".

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  46. My mango memory is sitting on a curry leaf tree in my granny's place with 4 of my cousins, slurping the mangoes and sucking the seed till its pure white then throwing it on the adjacent garden. Yes, we were very good kids, knew how to have clean good fun unlike the present video game generation. sigh.

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  47. this brought back so many memories Nancy:))
    You have a knack you know:)for bringing them out:)

    I used to eat mangoes like this too:))
    now I dont and reading your post made me realize just how much I missed those carefree childhood days:))


    I love those mangoes more..you knwo the ones that are neither ripe not raw?:D:D
    yummy!!:)))

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  48. i have a lot of mango and jackfruit memories..so much bonding, so much laughter, so many people to share with...

    eating the mango the way you mentioned is bliss...tho i don't do that anymore

    lovely post

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  49. So you mean I don't have to feel guilty everytime I save (hide) a smal, teeny weeny treat for myself? In my case that would be mithai much loved by both my kids and ... er their mother as well!

    And I agree that kids today and especially here, are missing out on much of the fun that we had as children.

    Came here from Suma's and had fun reading your post :)

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  50. oh nancy, nothing dishes up nostalgia for me like mangoes. i have not one but millions of mango memories. in fact all my memories are intertwined with one mango tree or the other i think. there was the prolific mango tree i think:-) the lower farm land that was a target for little mango robbers, the tangy small native (nadan) mango that my grandma loved to monopolize, the favorite mango tree of my grandfather's which is tastier than any mango i have ever eaten, the large 'neelam' mangoes that defied logic and hangs from the branches, the list is never ending. i will get to writing about them all some day.... thanks for this trip down the m lane.... well expressed as usual.

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  51. Sakshi: LOL...everything is fair in love & mango wars;-D. Thank U for sharing this wonderful MM with me!!!!!

    SJ: I'm amazed at ur curry leaf tree...it must have been a huge tree huh, for u to sit on the branches...tht too all the 5 of u....what fun really;-D.

    Indyeah: Thank U:-))!!!!Neither ripe nor raw....what kind of mango is tht;-o?????

    Suma: U've worded it beautifully:-))!!!
    And thank U:-)!!!!!!!!

    Madhumita Pravin: Ofcourse U dont....dont u realise by having it ourselves we are saving them from more serious problems like obesity & hyper-activity;-o.
    And thank U:-))!!!!!!!!!!

    Lan: Seriously those neelam mangoes really boggled 1's mind...however did those thin branches bear the weight of those huge fellas;-o. We had a very small tree almost a shrub actually which bore maybe 40 fruits but by the time the rains, robbers & other calamities were done with it we got only 4 or 5. Oh how we guarded them;-D.
    And ohhhh...thank U:-))!!!!!

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  52. ps - i moved.
    http://limenlemons.wordpress.com/

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  53. limenlemons: Et tu, Brute;-/!!!!

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  54. Yes agree 100%,the best way to eat mangoes is to just suck them in, no knives needed,truly.
    My fav mango memory: In the months of May and June, when adults were taking a nap, we kids used to sneak out of the house into the heat and used to pluck raw mangoes from neighborhood trees and eat them seasoned with salt.We actually carried small pouches of salt with us!!

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  55. arre!that raw kind of mango...kachcha khatta ..looks ripe but is actually yummy kind of khatta?
    *sigh*
    I am not making any sense :D

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  56. oh this brought such great memories of me slurping up squashed up mangoes from a slit in the skin!! Thank you!! I have a huge smile on my face....and a bigger grin from the conversation between you and your daughter!

    Excellent post as always!!

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  57. gah...don't talk to me about mangoes. I'm allergic to them . boo hoohoooooo.But yes...that hasn't stopped me from grabbing a slice once in a while.
    sob.

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  58. i thought i commented on this post... well all i said was "i lovveeeee mangoes, gonna try them in delhi" and i did!!! yummy :D

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