This is mango season in India. Its juicy fruit is a rich source of Vitamins A, C and D. Being a resident of West Bengal offers you substantial advantage in choosing between a great variety of delicious mangoes. According to one estimate, West Bengal ranks seventh in the country in mango production and over 100 tonnes (40% of total produce) of the local varieties are finding their place on the shelves of food marts in London since 2004. The main mango growing areas in West Bengal are Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia and North 24 Parganas of which Malda alone contributes 57 per cent of the output.
This year, the mangoes appeared in the market around mid-April and the varieties like Himsagar, Lakshmanbhog, Gulab-khas, Bombai, Rani-khas, Langra, Safeda, Kalmi, Alphonso, Dussheri, Chosa, Amrapali, Fajli and many other are likely to be on sale till early October.

The tree of mango, Mangifera indica, does best in rich, well drained soils in hot, rather dry climates. Although trees thrive and make handsome ornamental specimens under continually rainy tropical conditions, no fruiting occurs. This is the case in the Amra-kunj of Santiniketan.

Amra-kunj of Santiniketan falls within the core Ashram area founded by Rabindranath Tagore. It is here that he used to organise important public meetings with the visiting dignitaries like Gandhi. This is also the place where the university holds its Annual Convovation and the Acharya (all the Prime-Ministers of India have been its Acharya) distribute degrees to the passing-out students and confer Desikottama (D.Litt Honoris causa) and other awards to noted personalities like Lata Mangeskar.

All said and done, the mango trees Amra-kunj do not (or rarely) bear fruit. I am not sure as to why the community is not bothered about this fact. Possible reason for this apathy could be that none of us would get a share of the Amra-kunj produce and the fruit might lead to sort of (stone-pelting) nuisance from the children of adjacent Patha-Bhavana who study under these mango trees. Or is it a mango twist in the affairs of Amra-kunj ??