and Syeda Amtul Mango lovers had a field day at the Indian Consulate premises recently, savoring and devouring the uncrowned "king of all fruits" at a mango fest organized by India Forum. They had more than 30 varieties of delicious and luscious Indian mangoes to choose from to satiate their craving for the seasonal fruit. Since mangoes have become objects of envy, love and rivalry as well as a new status symbol for India's new elite, the fest was organized to showcase rich varieties of the fruit which are not commonly known to a wide section of mango lovers. [caption id="attachment_58593" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Children perform during a fancy dress competition[/caption] The mango festival also featured an array of recreational activities associated with the fruit, like dessert-making competition for women, mango-peeling competition for women, children's mango theme fancy dress competition, quiz for kids and plenty of mangoes to go around with varieties of the fruit on display. A couple of restaurants in Jeddah also participated in the event and prepared tasty treats for the visitors during the festival hours. The event was attended by many dignitaries and a large number of community members. [caption id="attachment_58590" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Members of India Forum participate in the mango festival. — SG photos[/caption] Ayoob Hakeem, India Forum's general secretary, welcomed the acting consul general and director of the forum, Mohammed Shahid Alam. Speaking on the occasion, Alam commended the efforts of Jaber Patel, representing the Sabir Patel Gardens company, and representatives of India Forum to make the event historic and successful. Alam also said, "This is an inaugural event in Jeddah, people have told me that it's could be a very big and exciting event. Our main agenda was to explore the possibility of showing the people that how many varieties of mangoes are available. They are just familiar with three or four varieties which are very common in the market but our idea was to showcase diverse varieties of mangoes which are being produced in India. So we got in touch with the Indian company — Sabir Patel Gardens — and it helped us organizing this event. [caption id="attachment_58588" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Women take part mango-peeling competition[/caption] He added, "As this is an inaugural event and the acceptance of this event defines the next events in future. Jabir Patel, whose farm mangoes were exhibited said, "The exhibition provides him and his company a great opportunity to showcase a wide range of mango varieties. I am happy to see the warm response from people. I brought 35 varieties of mangoes from my farm in India. Next time I am planning to bring more than 300 varieties of mangoes from our farm. I came here not to market our mangoes but to promote the different varieties of Indian mangoes in the Saudi Arabian market which will further strengthen relations between Saudi Arabia and India. We are among the top mango exporters in India, and we have been exporting mangoes from our farms to 32 different countries, including Saudi Arabia in collaboration with Panda, Danube supermarkets in Riyadh, Dammam and different parts of the Kingdom." [caption id="attachment_58585" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Mango lovers enjoy the festive mood[/caption] "It is our collective effort to offer a sweet traditional taste of India to our fellow Indians here," said Aijaz Ahmed khan, president of India Forum. "People are truly impressed with the presentation and organizing style of the various mango varieties and the mango festival is an excellent experience for them. Such programs should take place more often to promote our culture and traditions". He added, "mangoes from India come in a number of varieties, most of which are available here in the Kingdom. This event displays a little taste of our wide verities of mangoes". We will organize such events in future with more varieties with easy access, we will display our fruits with heritage," said Khan. Varities of mangos on the displaye in festival were Beganpally, Dasari, Himyath, Kesar, Pedda Rasal,Chinna Rassal, Swarna Rekha, Totha paree,Malguba, Manjeera Vikharabad Mahmouda,Safeeda,Kaju, Neelam, Goa,Shaker ghotli, Azamuz samar, Malika, Alfonsa Ratnagiri,Safeeda,Lal Qatra, Langra, Kishan Bhog,Suvarnarekha, Jahangir, Beneshan and Amparpali. The mango season usually lasts from April to September in India, but varies according to the weather of different places. According to a study, every second person likes to eat mango. China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Brazil and Indonesia are the largest producers of mangoes. Although China is a big mango cultivator, nothing beats the taste of mangoes from India.
