Mango Season....

AaM, Mavidi pandu, Ambo, Mango...what else...hmm,. I think these are the names I associate the one and only fruit I give the top most ranking..the king of all fruits..Mangoes...! I don't think any of us dislike Mangoes, unless of course we are not to eat it, due to some health reasons! I love the sweet, juicy mangoes so much..that I don't mind going for the second round on the treadmill, so that I can relish this fleshy fruit! Also mangoes are some thing I associate with my child hood in Andhra pradesh, which is THE place for this wonder fruit! My bro and me use to spend our entire summer holidays along with our neighbourhood Friends under the mango tree! When raw, we use to eat them with salt n chilli yummy yummy then, how ever sour they were..!! Afternoon heat was compensated with the cool evening breeze and we still use to hang under the mango tree. It was like a special treat when we had a mango in our hands which was half eaten and thrown to the ground by a parrot.I am sure my bro will agree we would not have exchanged that for anything at that time. Wow...dad was fully in to the mango world as well! His work place was in the main happening market called "Pedda Bazaar"...he had all the Mango vendors around him.Kilos and dozens were never a count they believed in, but baskets full, say 50s and 100s!So we had the best of juicy varieties, like "Cherakurasalu", Panchadarakalisi, Chinna Rasalu, and of course the most famous "Banganpalli"! Cut it in to pieces, suck the sweet juice, eat as we like..but never short of mangoes in the season, in fact meal was not complete with out this fruit! We so much got in to this Mango and Andhra culture, my mom even learnt to make the very famous Pickles like Avakkai, Magai etc.,from the next door aunties! Going to those special markets where they sell these specially meant for pickle mango's, getting them cut( there were special cutting equipments and people too for this) buying the ingredients and auspiciously, religiously making the pickle and leave it to get ready to relish with hot rice and Ghee was like a ritual with all Andhras! This whole thing was like a big process more interesting than preparing for an exam for us youngsters!! As the season was coming to an end, our lives too were sort of dull, with out this fruit , as schools and same mundane life again...but Mango bars ,pickles, murabbas, jams n squashes use to make it up till the next season...! So I decided I don't need a reason, or a season, or even my life time to say what I cherish ,relish and enjoy about this wonderful fruit Mango...my favourite!