karachi summers: the mango season
// June 17th, 2004 // All
As Karachi sizzles in the midst of its endless summer, there is but little respite for the millions that throng its festering alleys. The cool Arabian sea breeze remains conspicuous in it?s absence and the temperatures reach dizzying new heights-the monsoon seem little more than a mirage.
And yet, there is hope-and not just the dogmatic optimism, the collective faith of all the citizens of Karachi that things will get better, but rather something much more tangible-I talk?undoubtedly unconventionally?of a fruit, I talk of course of the mango-to some, the king of fruits.
Beneath the shade of a tree not far away from you, the air is heavy with the musky, and almost cloyingly sweet aroma of ripe mangoes. The sunlight filters through the leaves, onto the fruit cart below-as massive Khotas nestle comfortably amongst the more diminutive Chaunsas; the scene is hypnotic, mesmerising.
It?s a sight I come across almost everyday, as I pass the local phatan fruit seller. More often than not, I fall hook line and sinker for the bait. Back in the searing surroundings of my room, I bite into another succulent sindhri, words fail me as I try to describe the texture and the flavour that explodes in my mouth. Incredibly juicy, soft yet still firm- the sweet and ever so slightly sour flesh of the sindhri makes for singularly messy eating; perhaps it explains the childlike exuberance with which I savour the experience.
With the remains of mangoes littered all around me, it dawns on me that the pains of summer may well be worth the trouble..
damn. i never thought i would be able to craft something quite so cliched
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