Ode to the Mango

By Kieran

 Ode to Mango, the King of Fruits

 


Watercolor painting and original ode by Kieran Gonsalves (c) 2026, remembering the delicious Goan Mancurad mango of my childhood, a result of grafting introduced by Portuguese Jesuits over 500 years ago


Permit me take you back to the mango groves of late 1500s in Portuguese Goa.
Jesuit priests brought with them advanced fruit grafting knowledge from Lisboa!

Until then the quality of mangoes were left to the whims of open pollination.
Expert in grafting figs and citrus, good mangoes soon grew in any location

The divine Afonso mango threw open the doors of the royal courts of Emperor Akbar
Prompting dialogue between religious scholars all because the mango was the star
 
Akbar planted hundreds of thousands of mangoes in Darbhanga so smitten was he
Making mango, famous for nectar sweetness, khushbu and texture, royal by decree
 

Comments

Anonymous said…
Lovely! (WhatsApp comment from a dear artistic friend from Goa)
January 28, 2026 at 6:44 PM
Kieran said…
My favorite fruit. Almost 100 years ago they distributed high quality Alphonso mango grafts freely on the island Divar. The vaddo is called Amboi and every house has plenty of delicious fruit bearing trees today. ❣️ - Kieran
January 28, 2026 at 6:44 PM
Anonymous said…
Hasn’t there been a previous ode to mango? (WhatsApp comment from a very dear friend who appreciates all my artwork)
January 28, 2026 at 6:47 PM
Kieran said…
Probably. Be warned, I have a few more to get o of my system … so many delicious memories 🤭 - Kieran
January 28, 2026 at 6:47 PM
Anonymous said…
You are a font of information! (WhatsApp comment from a very dear relative in Goa)
January 28, 2026 at 7:01 PM
Kieran said…
Mum and Dad always encouraged us to read. We had all sorts of books from 3 or 4 libraries. Also magazine subscriptions to National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, Junior Statesman, Illustrated Weekly etc. All credit to them… ❣️ - Kieran
January 28, 2026 at 7:01 PM
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