Mango reigns

Around the time when mango showers drench the City, in many homes, families gather and gorge on the king of fruits. Arguing about who gets the seed, licking off the stray stream of juice making its way down to the elbows, Mom instructing the family with ‘Don’t get it on your clothes. It will never come off’ and talking about their day.

Mango, it seems, is the common denominator of society. Everything about the fruit is enticing. Ask anybody about the fruit and you’ll hear a story. Shaman Giri, a student, says, “I love mangoes. When I was a kid, all of us cousins would be packed off to our ancestral home in Chikmagalur for summer vacations. We’d run about the farms and the coffee plantations, get bitten by leeches and collect mango and binge on them. Those were such good times.” Eat it ripe or eat it raw, it’s the season’s must, that’s for sure. The ever popular Thotapuri mango is part of every school and college-goer’s daily diet. Stand a while and watch and you’ll see them pool their resource, negotiate and then devour the fruit. For the elderly, this is the season to pickle away the vadumanga for the year ahead.

However you like to consume it, cooked, pureed, dried, pickled or in a salad you’ll be keenly interested in finding out where they are available at wholesale prices. There are many mango mandis and melas around the City. Some of the most popular ones are in City Market, Madiwala Market, Yelahanka, Yeshwanthpur, Lal Bagh and the Saturday markets at Chandapura. Metrolife visited some of these markets.

If you are brave, have very little need for personal space, aren’t squeamish and have no olfactory sensation, then head to City Market. The prices are incredibly low, and they offer a huge range. Remember to bargain. “The season has been relatively good. And we offer prices that are much cheaper than anywhere else but you have to buy a minimum of 10 kilos. People come here from all over the City,” Asiz Ahmed, a wholesaler, informs. The best time to hit this mandi is between 6 am and 8 am.
The annual Mango Mela at Lal Bagh is another good place to visit if you are craving for mangos. Farmers from all over come here.

So these mangos are farm fresh and if you care about such things, then you can be happy in the knowledge that all the profits go straight to the farmers themselves. PCR Biofarms Mangos even offer you completely organic mangos. This mandi is incredibly clean and has wide spaces to walk about, check out different kinds of mangos and compare prices. The best time to buy mangos here is between 5 am and 10 am, it seems. You can buy small quantities of mangoes here. Don’t forget the lesson from City Market, bargain, bargain, bargain.

If you don’t want to wake up early or if you get a mango craving in the middle of the day or if global warming compels you to shop only at air-conditioned stores, then there is somewhere even you can find mangoes at discounted prices. Big Bazaar is the place for you. The only thing is though, you won’t find a great many variety.

 Those who are looking to pickle mangoes and are looking for raw mangoes, then
you will find this a wasted trip.

To state the obvious you can’t bargain, of course, so Big Bazaar is more expensive than the other locations profiled.

At the mandis, the prices are lowered through the day.

As the better quality of mangoes get sold, the prices go down, too. Your neighbourhood Hopcoms and Sunday markets are good bets as well.