School Souviner Final Draft

BHPV SCHOOL
MEGA REUNION
1978-1993 Batches
said, ‘You see, I have just begun to learn and
cannot play well, and so sometimes it does not
sound good and others around me make fun of
me. That is why I wanted a quiet place to
practice”. The old man’s face softened seeing the
boy’s concentration. “You will need a lot of
practice. Now that you are here, come with me.”
“You won’t tie me up to a mango tree, will you?”
“I am going to show you my favourite mango
tree, come with me. After that you may want to
be tied to it!” was the surprising answer. Arjav
was a little worried especially because the man
continued to hold on to his shoulder as they
walked on the path that led them past trees
laden with mangoes. Here and there could be
seen small piles of green mangoes that had
been collected. Finally they reached a huge tree.
Around it had been planted hibiscus bushes full
of red blooms. So what was special about this
tree? “Can you name some mango varieties?”
asked the old man. “I have heard of Alphonso in
Mumbai. Aunt said something about Malgova…”
“Here is Alphonso…”, said the old man, as he
walked around the tree. “See this is Malgova.
This round one like a ball is rumani. See this long
variety, this is kilimooku – it has a beak like a
parrot. This one, it looks as if it is wearing a pink
top…” and so on, reeling off names like Chinna
Rasam, Pedda Rasam, Banganapalle, Amrapalli,
Himam Pasand, Jehangir, Pacharisi, Neelam,
Chendura, Kallamani… till he stopped to take a
breath. Arjav sat down quickly. He felt breathless
too. “That many? Thatha (grandfather), how did
they manage to appear on just one tree?” “Many,
many years ago, I became interested in
mangoes. I thought I would try to grow many
varieties on one tree. This is done by a method
called grafting, sort of like taking a cutting from
a tree and attaching it on another in a special
manner”. “My aunt in Delhi was talking to my
mother about visiting a mango festival. She said
that there were so many stalls selling different
varieties. This tree is an exhibition all by itself!”
“Yes, this tree has more than thirty varieties,
though only about a dozen are bearing fruits
this year.” “Thatha, please can I bring my brother
and cousins to see this? I am sure they will enjoy
it”. “Yes. But you have to make me a promise. As
long as you are here, you should come every day
and practice your flute, only come through the
gate. And when your brother and cousins come,
please tell them to tell their friends not to throw
stones at mangoes. You see, this is my only
income. In fact, if you bring them tomorrow
morning at this time, I will even let you pluck a
mango and taste it. A mango fresh from the tree
tastes heavenly. I will also show you how to peel
a full mango so that the peel comes like an
interlinked bangle. ” “I am sure nobody will
throw stones at the trees ever after they see the
special mango tree. Thank you for letting me
practice my flute here. And you are right, I would
not complain if you were to tie me to that
wonderful tree if I could taste all the different
varieties, their names are so interesting!” he
laughed as the old man led him back to the main
road though a proper gate and showed him the
way home.
(The above story appeared in the June 2013 issue of Gokulam, an
English magazine for children published by the Kalki Group in
Chennai. The magazine closed down in October 2018. The story is
partly based on memories of BHPV and the mango garden across
the storm water drain opposite CMD’s house. I remember crossing
over to the other side on the beam mentioned in the story. The ute
player Arjav is my sister Bhuvana’s son. The tree with multiple grafts
was there in the family’s mango orchards in Srirangam (Tamil
Nadu).)
23
December 2019