Sudha Murty’s latest release is a fun celebration of the national fruit, the juicy and scrumptious mango!
The following excerpt is the first chapter of How The Mango Got Its Magic. Get your copy now from bookstores or head to Amazon to order!
*
Chapter One
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful mango grove on the outskirts of a village. Dinkar was the owner of the grove and Shyam was his hardworking son.
Back in those days, mangoes were ornamental fruits with beautiful colours and shapes, but they were not very tasty—they were more sour than sweet.
One day, it began to rain heavily and there was a knock on the door of Dinkar’s house.
When Dinkar opened the door, he saw an old man standing at his doorstep. The old man said, ‘Hello. I got caught in the rain. Will you let me in? I will leave once it stops raining.’
Dinkar generously welcomed him in. ‘It looks like the rain will not stop today, but it may cease tomorrow. Please come in. You can take shelter here.’
The old man entered the house. Shyam made him a hot meal and gave him some water to drink. The old man gulped the water down and devoured the food quickly, within minutes.
After a loud burp of satisfaction, he smiled at Shyam and Dinkar and said, ‘That was a wholesome meal.’
He took out a mango from his bag and gave it to Dinkar. ‘This is for both of you,’ he said. ‘Please cut it and eat it immediately.’
Dinkar looked at the mango. It looked like it was one of the very sour ones. He did not want to insult his guest, so he cut the mango and bit into it. His eyes popped in wonder and he turned to his son, ‘Shyam, all the mangoes I have eaten in my life have been sour—like the taste of lemon. Though we have a mango grove, we never eat the mangoes that grow here. But this mango is fantastic and unusually sweet. It’s absolutely delicious! Go on, try it.’
Shyam took his first bite and nodded his head vigorously in agreement. This mango was indeed sweet and tasty. Shyam had never even heard of sweet mangoes!
‘Plant this mango seed. The tree will grow quickly and produce more mangoes like the one you ate just now,’ the old man smiled and said.
The next morning it stopped raining. The old man thanked Dinkar and Shyam for their timely hospitality and left.
