Mango galore: Annual festival delights thousands of visitors in New Delhi

Jeddah - Yasmine El Tohamy - NEW DELHI: Tens of thousands of people attended New Delhi’s annual mango festival over the weekend to see and taste hundreds of the fruit’s varieties from all over India.

The South Asian country grows over 1,500 varieties of mango, making it the world’s largest mango producer as it accounts for about half of global production of the fruit.

In the Indian capital, farmers and sellers from across the nation gathered to present more than 500 varieties of mangoes to lovers of the fruit and curious visitors as part of the city’s three-day festival that ended on Sunday.

“People love this and eagerly await this every year … This show hosts the largest number of mango varieties,” Maniksha Bakshi, public relations manager of the festival’s organizer, Delhi Tourism, told Arab News.

“Besides the private farmers, a number of agriculture universities and government organizations have also participated and displayed their hybrid varieties … The variety of mangoes on display has increased. People have come from Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana and different parts of the country.”

On the 33rd edition of the festival this year, Delhi Tourism also arranged side events to attract more visitors, including special sessions dubbed “master classes,” which involve chefs making mango-based dishes.

Organizers said they had expected about 30,000 people to attend, making it an opportunity for farmers to showcase the wide range of their produce.

“I want to display my variety of mangoes at the festival,” said mango farmer Azmi Rizvi, who is from Sitapur city.

“In my mango orchard, there are at least 120 to 130 varieties. Besides that, sweet mangoes and pickle mangoes are also there.”

Teppei Yamashita, a Japanese national, was surprised to discover the array of mangoes at the event.

“I never knew this many types of mangoes existed. I thought it was a joke. My staff was telling (me about) hundreds and hundreds of types of mangoes, and I now witnessed it as a fact,” he said.

Some Indians also attended out of curiosity about the different mango varieties, as many are not commonly found in the capital’s markets.

“The kind of mangoes that we see here, we generally don’t see in the market … Majority of them we never heard the name of … so it’s a wonderful experience to be here,” visitor Gaurav Narang said.

For Vikash Singh, who has been attending the mango festival throughout the years, the wide spectrum of choices was the event’s main appeal.

“The reason for coming here is that in one place you get to see … varieties of mangoes — all different colors, different pulp, different shapes, different sizes,” Singh said. “It’s great fun here because you can get to taste the mangoes. You can buy mangoes (too).”

The festival also attracted mango buffs like Rumi Garg, who was among those who took part in a mango-eating competition.

“I had to participate in the contest. I am an avid mango lover and I like all the mango products — mango cakes, mango shakes and all those mango puddings. I finished it all, hoping to win in the competition,” he said.

Dr. A.K. Singh, a professor at Pantnagar University in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, said he has been going to the festival for more than a decade.

“We (India) are the leaders in the case of mango production,” Singh said. “I have been attending this mango festival for the last 16 years and the response of the public is really good. They are very much interested.”