Indian mangoes: Where tradition, industry and U.S. nuclear policy collide

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 18:12:00 +0000

India's Alphonso mango is a fruit with an aura. It's flavorful, aromatic, small-pitted and as smooth as silk (with none of the fibrousness of Mexican mangoes sold in the U.S.). The Vedic texts praise mangoes as the "fruit of the gods," and the Alphonso has deservedly been dubbed the "king of fruits" for its royal taste. It can be found in Mumbai's markets and in the Konkan Coast of southern Maharashtra, where generations of farmers have been growing the rare mango cultivar for hundreds of years.

The year 2006 might have been the turning point, though, for this divine fruit. As a carrot for India's accepting U.S. nuclear technology and policy, George W. Bush opened the U.S. market to Alphonsos. The Indian government, anxious to brand the Konkan Coast as "India's California," offered subsidies for farmers who would cultivate the mangoes for export. Since then, in Ratnagiri district, production has been up more than 200 percent.

But this explosive growth comes with costs and a political and potentially tragic irony. Age-old growing practices are dying off as small farmers think big-time business. Meanwhile, even as the Indian government encouraged mango production, it also allowed for new coal and thermal power projects nearby, whose environmental fallout may actually strip these farmers of their license to export.

A real-life treasure hunt takes off

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:30:00 +0000

That’s right; throughout this fine land, twelve handcrafted, one-of-a-kind, gem-encrusted numbers lie buried in the soil. If you can find them, they’re yours to keep. But where are they? The only path lies in solving the riddles in McSweeney’s newest title, "The Clock Without a Face." Get a head start on the hunt. Pick up an advance copy of "Clock" here or at your local bookstore starting May 14.

Last Wednesday, Aaron Holmes woke up early and packed a lunchbox with candy, bananas, and PB&J sandwiches, "because they make excellent adventure food." He grabbed an emergency kit containing a bit of string, a hammer, and a flashlight, a five-dollar Wal-Mart shovel, and a copy of "The Clock Without A Face" -- his field guide for the journey ahead of him.

Salon.com > Richard Parks

Indian mangoes: Where tradition, industry and U.S. nuclear policy collide

A real-life treasure hunt takes off