I am not sure if I like Mango or jack fruit better. Both fruits are easily available in most parts of the country during the season. There are even fruit festivals organised in urban areas to promote these two fruits. Apart from consuming them fresh when ripe, both these fruits can be used before ripening and after in several ways, which are extremely popular.
One interesting thing about both these fruits is that both supplement calories to those who are on a subsistence level. During my childhood days, both these fruits hardly costed anything. One dozen mango was sold for two rupees and one full jack fruit for one rupee. Now one dozen mango would cost about 200 and one jack fruit about 75 rupees which make these fruits in accessible to people from low socio-economic background, depriving them of the caloric advantages these fruits provided.
I was listening to a debate today on food access to the economically disadvantaged. The impression that I gathered was that food security is an idea than a reality today. I heard a statistics that 21 percent under five children and 35 percent of senior citizens are malnourished in India today. Against this about 12 percent children and 27 percent adults are obesity prone. This is frightening. We are faced with extremes.
One thing that struck me about this jack fruit tree in the photo is that it has four generations of fruit in it. This means that this tree would give fruits for about nine months. This is a new phenomenon due to climate changes taking place in the environment. Instead of the well defined four climatic conditions in one year, we have in between times which adversely affect the trees. But the trees respond by bearing fruits.
A fruit bearing tree is no more occupying the land space during the non-season. It is adapting to the climate changes favourably.
This is a metaphor for humans. When there are changes or stresses, do we become more productive or effective? It is justifiable to surrender to the circumstances. but it is sign of the overcoming spirit when we remain as a ray of hope in difficult circumstances and become path finders for others.
M.C.Mathew( text and photo)
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