Summer fruits native to TN lose out to ‘Engleesh’ varieties

Vendors across the city are worried about the dwindling market of fruits that are native to the Tamil Nadu such as Nungu (ice apple), Vilampazham (wood apple), Mangosteen and Kodukkapuli (Madras thorn). These juicy, summer specials have now become a rarity due to the lack of takers while watermelon, sweet lime and other fruits are in demand.

At a small stall selling Nungu (palmyra fruit) in Mylapore, eight-year-old Lavanya messily squished the translucent flesh and asked her mother, “Amma, what is this strange thing and how do I eat it?” The amused fruit vendor looked at her and said, “This is what my grandfather and his grandfather would eat during summer, not your fancy ‘Engleesh’ fruits.”

S Srinivasan, president, Chennai Fruits Commission Agent Association, says he too remembers eating these fruits during his childhood. “However, most people in bigger cities don’t know what these are due to lack of awareness. Only roadside stalls stock these varieties, not the bigger supermarkets,” he says. The more familiar, easily available fruits like mangoes, watermelon, sweet lime, orange and musk melon are the most in demand now. Most of Chennai’s stock of Nungu, Kodukkapuli, Naval Pazham (jamun) and so on, comes from villages, where they are grown in bulk. “Each fruit has a list of health benefits that only a few know about. For example, Naval Pazham is great for those with diabetes, Mangosteen is a rich source of anti-oxidants, wood apple provides relief from constipation and indigestion and so on,” explains Manohar K, on whose farm in Pollachi grows Mangosteen, Star fruit, Palmyra and coconut trees. His personal favourite is Kodukkapuli, a rather strange-looking fruit that resembles tamarind. “The best way to beat a hot summer day when we were kids was to sip on tender coconut water, eat star fruit with salt and chilli powder and compete to see who can eat the most number of Kodukkapuli. The plant near my home has been around for years – it just grows wild and free,” he says.

Longan, known as Muthali Pazham in Tamil, is another almost forgotten fruit. 83-year-old Bhagyalakshmi, a resident of T Nagar, still remembers a drink her mother would make out of this. “She would peel the hard outer shell, mash the pulp, add elaneer to it and give it to us during the summer holidays,” she recalls.