Madras Ramblings: Day 17 - Mangoes and monsoon

Monday, July 14, 2025

Day 17 - Mangoes and monsoon

This was my view from my tent window in Yercaud, many years ago.

It is mango season now. Mangoes and monsoons. First the mangoes and then the monsoon. I had never thought about it. I attended an online talk last evening by Pradip Krishen where he observed that this seasonal order gives the mango seed the best chance of survival in the wild. Yes indeed.

What a charming session it was on the wild mangoes of the hills of Central India, organised by India's Nature as part of Monsoon Beauty 2025.

This screenshot from his talk set the location context - Dhoopgarh area of the Mahadeo range of hills in Pachmarhi, some 4000 ft above sea level.

It reminded me of the hills of Melghat which we visited in 2008, not too far from here.

I gasped when he shared this panorama of the Satpura hills. Layer upon layer, with the Narmada running in the valleys below.

And the wild mangoes follow the path of the 30 odd streams that course down the limestone hills. Look at the colour of the leaves - red, to green, to yellow. These mango trees and their bounty provide income to the tribals of the area.

Pradip narrated many anecdotes - about Baldev who took him into the forest to a tree with divinely sweet fruits, about the Bombay Green fenced mango grove that the bears loved and the best one of all - the littering of the forest floor with purple-tinged mango seeds. Courtesy the bears who combined their love for jamun fruits and wild mangoes pooping these coloured seeds!

There was a discussion on the "Satpura hypothesis" - something I had not heard of. The hypothesis goes something like this (if I understood right) that the Satpuras were part of a continuous mountain range connecting Myanmar to the Western ghats, and leading to similarities of species at both ends. The hypothesis has been opposed, academically, but it is interesting nevertheless.

The talk made me think of wild vs cultivated mangoes, hybrids, my favourite varieties, whether my modern palate would like wild varieties? I mused as to what happens when hybrid varieties go "feral" so to speak.

For example, all these trees below - they were not planted, but just happened to grow from seeds that happened to land in fertile soil! They had no specific characteristics. Would they be the wild mangoes of their region?

April 2015 - Mango flowers in my mother's garden - from the tree that grew on its own! mango flowers that seem creamy and white from a distance have some beautiful colours and are always buzzing with insects.