How growers and restaurants are reviving rare heritage varieties of mangoes in West Bengal

In West Bengal’s Murshidabad, uncommon mango varieties are spoken astir with the aforesaid reverence and cautious specificity that aged aristocratic families reserve for their ancestors. Most of these mangoes similar kohitur, champa, Bimli, rani pasand and anaras, which erstwhile flourished crossed Bengal, person been struggling to past nether the pressures of commercialized farming and shrinking orchards. Now, with their saplings and seeds passed betwixt growers, oregon via donations by orchard owners to metropolis hotels and nationalist gardens, a tiny web of horticulturists and restaurateurs are reviving these uncommon varieties of mangoes crossed Malda and Murshidabad.

One uncommon variety, and possibly the astir delicate successful the world, kohitur, is truthful brushed that it is wrapped successful fabric due to the fact that adjacent fingertips tin bruise its flesh. The champa carries the scent of frangipani flowers, portion the reddish-yellow Bimli is said to person been named aft a gardener whose hard enactment impressed Mir Jafar (1691-1765), erstwhile commandant of the Bengal service nether Siraj ud-Daulah . Nawab pasand and rani pasand, which virtually construe to favoured by the nawab and favoured by the queen, were patronised for their sweet, juicy, and fibreless pulp.

Harvested from history

Pradip Chopra, president of the Murshidabad Heritage Development Society, founded successful 2010 with the purpose of reviving practice establishments successful Azimganj and Jiaganj successful Murshidabad, and organiser of the Murshidabad Mango Festival, says the region’s mango civilization is profoundly tied to the Sheherwali community.

“The Sheherwalis could experimentation due to the fact that they had the resources. They would determination beverage into the roots of mango trees oregon store fruits successful roseate water. Stories of these practices inactive past wrong families,” says Pradip.

He explains that galore of the uncommon mangoes necessitate specialised attraction and are excessively delicate for mean commercialized circulation. “The authentic sensation of a kohitur tin lone beryllium understood successful the orchard,” helium says. “The infinitesimal it ripens, it has to beryllium chopped and eaten determination itself nether the shadiness of the tree. If you support it excessively long, the sensation changes.”

While Pradip does not personally ain orchards, helium notes that galore of the uncommon mangoes revived and showcased astatine the Murshidabad Mango Festival are sourced chiefly from 2 orchards: 1 spanning 60-acres wrong the Kathgola Palace owned by Sanjay Dugar, descendant of the erstwhile royal household of Kathgola and sole trustee of Kathgola property and different 1 bigha (0.62 acre) orchard connected the outskirts of Murshidabad owned by Rocky Sk, who besides oversees its gardening and upkeep. Pradip says helium is not straight progressive with the different orchards successful the region, and that these 2 stay the festival’s main sources for practice varieties. The seeds and saplings are typically planted during the monsoon months of May, June, July and August. Most of the uncommon mangoes statesman fruiting successful the archetypal week of June and mostly vanish by the extremity of the month.

Pradip besides runs the practice depository edifice House of Sheherwali successful Azimganj, Murshidabad.

Rare obsession

Sanjay has spent the past 22 years reviving exotic mango varieties successful his orchards located crossed Kathgola. . “Murshidabad was historically location to astir 200 mango varieties similar kalapahar, Mohanbhog, molamjam and bira,” helium says. Sanjay says that kalapahar’s recognition is its blackish-green tegument that darkens adjacent further connected ripening, but wrong the soma is saccharine with a sweet-sour sharpness. Mohanbhog is softer and richer, dessert-like successful texture, portion molamjam is prized for its aggravated flavour though it has a precise abbreviated support life. Bira, meanwhile, is known for its delicate sweetness and aroma.

He traces portion of this past to emperor Akbar, who reportedly maintained an orchard of 1 lakh mango trees successful Darbhanga, Bihar, wherever experiments were conducted by crossbreeding mango saplings with fruits and flowers to make chiseled fragrances and flavour profiles. Bihar, located distant from Murshidabad, was the emperor’s spot of experimentation. The saplings that were experimented upon were aboriginal circulated betwixt nawabs and zamindars of Murshidabad enabling them to instrumentality basal crossed Murshidabad’s orchards. “Some sanction the varieties) similar the mango called anaras had pineapple-like notes, champa smelled of frangipani and chandankosa smelled similar sandalwood,” says Sanjay. Saplings grown successful Darbhanga travelled betwixt nawabs and zamindars earlier taking basal crossed Murshidabad’s orchards. . The transportation to the Sheherwali assemblage comes aft the saplings arrived successful Murshidabad. The experimentation itself is linked to Mughal/Nawabi horticultural culture, but the preservation, cultivation and continuation of galore of these uncommon varieties became intertwined with affluent Sheherwali merchant families who owned orchards and estates crossed Murshidabad and Azimganj.

Preserving these mangoes, however, requires bonzer patience. Trees tin instrumentality 7 to 8 years to carnivore fruit. Older trees spot a simplification successful fruition aft 40-to-50 years and whitethorn dilatory dice thereafter. Saplings indispensable perpetually beryllium grafted from surviving stock. “Our aged trees disappeared implicit time,” says Sanjay. “So we sourced saplings from nurseries astir Murshidabad that had preserved them and replanted them.”

Some of those replanted trees are present bearing fruit. Sanjay says uncommon varieties including kohitur, champa, bimli and rani pasand were planted years agone astatine Victoria Memorial and ITC Sonar. “The clime successful Kolkata and Murshidabad is not precise different,” helium says. “These trees should ideally turn present excessively and past clip I checked, they were inactive surviving.”

Yet, rarity itself makes revival difficult. Kohitur remains scarce adjacent wrong Murshidabad. Sanjay says the mango seldom appears successful Kolkata markets but during peculiar showcases and mango festivals. The effect is exported to West Asia, wherever it is reportedly sold for ₹3,000 to ₹5,000 a piece. In Murshidabad, its prices scope betwixt ₹250 and ₹500 per piece.

Murshidabad’s uncommon mangoes and their flavour profiles

• Kohitur: Extremely soft, juicy and delicate; bruises adjacent astatine the interaction of fingertips.
• Champa: Floral mango scented similar champa/frangipani flowers.
• Bimli: Reddish-yellow assortment with a mild sweetness and affluent flavour.
• Nawab Pasand / Rani Pasand: Sweet, juicy mangoes with creaseless fibreless pulp erstwhile favoured by royalty.
• Anaras: Tropical assortment with chiseled pineapple-like notes.
• Kalapahar: Dark-skinned mango with a saccharine yet crisp sweet-sour edge.
• Mohanbhog: Rich, dessert-like mango with brushed flesh.
• Molamjam: Intensely flavourful assortment with a precise abbreviated support life.
• Bira: Delicately saccharine mango with a airy aroma.
• Chandankosa: Rare aromatic mango known for its sandalwood-like fragrance.

Preserving heritage

The doctrine of preservation is present uncovering its mode into restaurants similar Amar Khamar, located successful the bosom of South Kolkata, the ingredient-led lunchroom is attempting to reintroduce Bengal’s forgotten mango varieties to municipality diners. The edifice works with husbandman networks crossed Bengal to revive mislaid atom arsenic good arsenic mango varieties and determination ingredients. Last year, it sourced uncommon single-estate mangoes similar Bira, Molamjam, Champa from Murshidabad which were concisely served to guests.

“This twelvemonth we are moving much intensely connected bringing uncommon mango varieties into the restaurant,” says Raina Talukder, caput of marque astatine Amar Khamar. The squad has tied up with orchard owners crossed Malda, Murshidabad, Birbhum and North 24-Parganas and is presently increasing saplings of uncommon varieties they are incapable to publically place since the enactment is inactive underway.

The process, she explains, is fragile. Mangoes get semi-ripe and indispensable beryllium ripened connected site. Timing mistakes tin mean spoilage. Transport affects flavour and texture.

“The squad is presently conducting proceedings runs to recognize which varieties past question champion and however they should beryllium served,” she says.

Their preservation efforts person besides enabled varieties similar Himsagar, Amrapali and Gopalbhog from Malda. Himsagar, a commercialized assortment is known for its intensely saccharine fibreless flesh, Amrapali for its heavy orangish pulp and concentrated flavour, and Gopalbhog for its early-season ripening and affluent floral sweetnes - person been transformed into amsattos, Bengal’s accepted sun-dried mango leather disposable passim the twelvemonth astatine Amar Khamar. Unlike commercially sweetened versions, these amsattos are dried people without adding sugar, allowing the chiseled flavour of each mango to travel through.

Awareness, growers say, inactive mostly comes from orchard-owning families, collectors, mango enthusiasts and festival visitors. This June, the Murshidabad Heritage Development Society volition erstwhile again organise its yearly month-long mango festival successful Azimganj successful the archetypal week of June until the past week of the month, wherever visitors volition beryllium invited into orchards to sensation fruits astatine highest ripeness. Before June, galore varieties are unavailable. By July, respective vanish again. Their fragility defines them. Many are excessively soft, excessively seasonal and excessively temperamental for commercialized proviso chains. In Murshidabad’s orchards, revival is astir preserving an full vocabulary of sensation that Bengal erstwhile knew intimately and is present learning to retrieve again.