Covid has kept people
at home (is it so ?) and summer is peaking.
As the mercury shoots up and as people start predicting that ‘this year
summer is going to be more hot’ …. people start thinking of delicious mango
season. Mangoes have enriched the literature ~ So many
stories, real as well as apocryphal, are associated with this sublime fruit.
Like Cricket among all sports, mango among all fruits has lent itself to the
folklore of Indian and subcontinental literature. Every place in India, have their own variety of mangoes – some to
be eaten ripe, some green and raw and some pickled and devoured. Sure you can add more to this list
……..Alphonso, Totapuri, Aambaat, Banganapalli,
Neelam, Sindhoori, Malda, Pairi, Chandrakaran, Alphonso, Langra, Gulaab
khaas, peddarasalu, Kesar, dashehari, movandhan, mallika …..
The cyclone Amphan cut a swathe through Malda before
entering Bangladesh, destroying around 250 huts also in the district. No
fatality was reported. The cyclone has come as a double whammy for the mango
growers who didn’t get labourers for maintenance of the trees because of the
coronavirus-induced lockdown. Cyclone Amphan
has spelt a doom for mango cultivators. The farmers had already suffered losses
as they could not carry out maintenance of trees and fruits in the absence of
labourers because of the ongoing lockdown. Semi-ripe mangoes fell from the
trees because of pest attack. The cyclone has damaged whatever fruits left on
trees,” said Ujjwal Saha, the secretary of the Malda Mango Merchants’
Association. The district produces
around 3.5 lakh metric tons of mangoes on an average a year. The cyclone has
also affected paddy, vegetables and litchi. “The data we have received from
different blocks so far indicate around 16,050 metric tons of litchis were lost
in the cyclone. Paddy cultivated in an area of 16,000 hectares and vegetables
in around 500 hectares were damaged,” said a source in the administration.
With a
history as delicious, mangoes make for one of the most popular fruits across
the world. In addition to being sumptuous, pulpy and amazing, mangoes pack a
host of health benefits too! – but sadly, humans misbehave at every possible
opportunity. A crisis, it is often said,
brings out the best and worst in people. Delhi's worst was laid bare on
Wednesday when dozens of men - passers-by, auto drivers and just about anybody
- pounced upon crates of mangoes left unattended by a street vendor and robbed
it clean in a nauseating display of inhumanity in the country's capital.
According to NDTV, Hindusthan Times and other media
reports, Chhote, a fruit-seller in north Delhi's Jagatpuri area, was the
affected person as the incident took
place after a fight broke out in the neighbourhood, at a time when law
enforcement agencies are supposed to be on heightened alert to enforce the
nationwide COVID-19 lockdown. "They had a fight over there, near the
school. A group of men came here and asked me to move my theli (push
cart)," the smalltime vendor said. Seeing his crates lying unguarded, some
people in the area passing by decided to take advantage of the situation. Two,
four, six - everyone scooped up whatever they could carry. The video of the
incident, recorded by a witness and widely shared on social media, showed the
free-for-all that followed.
Riders put mangoes in
their helmets. Others called out like hawkers, encouraging everyone to help
themselves. The incident caused a small traffic jam in the area, the video
showed. "I had 15 crates of mangoes here worth about Rs 30,000. They took
everything," Chhote said. Business has been slow because of the
coronavirus lockdown and this incident has practically broken his back, the
fruit-seller said.
The incident comes amid
reports of violations of coronavirus restrictions in several parts of the
country. The Union Home Ministry, which controls the Delhi Police, on Thursday
sent out a memo to all states asking them to be vigilant and not let people
break the rules. NDTV circulated an independent
note seeking monetary contributions to the fruit seller and followed with another
report, this time act of goodness !
For the second time in a
week, Phool Mia aka Chhote, a fruit-seller in north Delhi can barely believe
his eyes. Just three days after he found his stall looted by ordinary people of
mangoes worth nearly Rs 30,000, he is stunned by the response he has received. "I
am thankful to you. You told my story. I am thankful to everyone who has helped
me," Chhote told NDTV. "Those who had to
steal, did so. But I am overwhelmed that so many people have helped me,"
he said. Over the last 24 hours, since NDTV ran his story and shared his
bank account details, more than a hundred people have sent in contributions
ranging from Rs 100-200 to several thousands.
Until this morning, he had
no clue about the outrage that his ordeal had provoked or the outpouring of
solidarity. When NDTV went back to him on Saturday and told him about the
response from viewers and readers, Chhote was taken aback. A quick trip to the
bank revealed that he had received more than enough to cover his losses.
This fruit
seller was lucky to get monetary compensation – but shame on the people who
looted property on road. All of them knew that they were stealing fruits that
too from a smalltime roadside vendor. Fie upon them.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
24.5.2020
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