Visakhapatnam :
A native of Central America and Northern South America, which was till recently looked down upon as a poor drought substitute of mango and cashew, Madras Thorn has suddenly been catapulted to the top of the popularity charts in fruit markets of Andhra Pradesh.
Commonly known as Sweet Tamarind, the fruit has grown so popular over the past few summers that it now fetches anywhere from Rs 150 to Rs 300 per kg, depending on the packaging, in cities like Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad and Vijayawada. K J Madhavi, an ardent fan of this pulpy fruit, said, “Most of the stuff we buy is at supermarkets where a kg goes for Rs 500 as it is claimed to be of export quality.”
Madras Thorn was first introduced by the Portuguese in India, albeit accidentally. The sweet tasting pod pulp of the fruit, which is rich in anti-oxidants, was stacked by sailors on long voyages and later became popular in India as drought food during summers. The tree thrives in most parts of peninsular India, except the wetter regions, and in Andhra is popularly referred to as Seema Chinta.
The fruit’s rising popularity has taken many by surprise. “This tree was found in most gardens and backyards even in big towns, and in villages was found scattered on fields with many farmers using the fruit pulp as part of the diet for their cattle. However, in the drought prone agriculturally poorer parts this fruit acted as a major food substitute. Just like Mahua in some areas of Central India, Madras Thorn was considered highly useful as the pulp was used to make dye, qualified as a food substitute and even the tender green leaves were used to prepare a kind of rasam,” said horticulturist R N S Sarma.
Old-timers from Visakhapatnam too pointed out rather cheekily that it was hard to believe that a fruit they used to consume as a substitute for mango during the summers, had now become so pricey.
Many vendors believe that the demand is on the rise for various reasons. K Narasimhulu, who sells the fruit near the RTC complex at Visakhapatnam, said, “It has become a major competitor during the mango season primarily due to rising mango prices as well as fears of indiscriminate use of pesticide in mangoes, something that is not a concern with the Madras Thorn.”
Narasimhulu further pointed out that unlike small town and rural customers, the buyers in big cities no longer discriminate between popular fruit and drought food. “A large number of people are now looking at the medicinal value of the food they consume and the health benefits they gain.”
“The bark of the tree can also be used to make a soup to treat stomach ailments and infections, apart from fever,” said G Bullayya, a naturalist and native herbal medicine specialist residing in Addatigala of East Godavari. He, however, lamented the fact that Seema Chinta was yet another example of how the government had failed to realize the potential of an extremely useful tree. “The fruit that was once sold at Rs 5 a kg (in the early 80s) now sells for more than Rs 200 even in places like Rajahmundry. It is tragic that the government has failed to identify and tap the potential of our forest yield to the maximum extent possible,” he said.
Sources in the state horticulture department admitted that so far no concrete efforts had been made to make the extremely useful tree an essential part of mainstream horticulture. They did, however, admit that a tree that could prosper even in desert-like conditions could have a major role to play in improving the economy of arid regions.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / by Venkatesh Bayya, TNN / March 14th, 2014
