Mango is the fruit of
summer. Though the king of fruits comes
in different varieties, the most preferred ones are Banganapalli, Alphonso, Malgova
and Imam Pasand for their own unique flavour and feel.
MY MANGO MUSINGS
(By Subbaram Danda)
I cannot forget an
incident that took place one good summer morning a few decades ago. An emissary of a prominent industrialist of
Tamil Nadu brought to my residence a big basket of mangoes in a public
relations exercise.
“Sir, this is from the
famous Thathachariar garden of Srirangam.
It is the best quality Imam Pasand grown with all care and naturally
ripened. It is not easily available in
the market. My boss has asked me to deliver it to you with his personal
compliments,” the emissary told me in an endearing voice. The basket would have contained at least 50
fruits neatly tucked in hay.
It was unexpected. I
was surprised. I could not react
immediately. It had been my policy not to
accept gifts sent privately to my residence by any person. But this was a tricky situation. The industrialist was an excellent source of
news for me and a very likeable person. He
had given me clues about major business developments, which helped me land good
scoops many a time. He had also given me
his unlisted personal phone number, so that I could contact him any time without
having to go through his secretary. (In
those days there were only landlines and some specially acquired numbers were
not listed in the official telephone directory.)
I was in a peculiar
dilemma. If I rejected the gift, how
would he react? Would he think that I
was rude? Finally I took the plunge and
politely declined the gift, hoping he would understand me.
The emissary was
aghast. He showed me a long list of
possible recipients, which included senior bureaucrats, politicians, media
persons, bankers and others who mattered.
Still, I stuck to my guns. He
left somewhat puzzled and disappointed.
My fears were
unfounded. The industrialist called me
back and expressed his appreciation of my stand. Afterwards, we became very thick friends.
Gifts were the big
bugbear of many journalists. What would constitute a gift? Would the lunch given to journalists at a
press conference in a five-star hotel by a company declaring its annual
financial results constitute a gift or only the give-away offered at the
end? Similarly, if an organization took
a press party to its plant in another part of the state to showcase its
activities, would it amount to a gift?
All these factors led
me to take a decision – a viable and practical one. I would not mind accepting any gift given
openly in a press meet or at a get together but not those sent home
personally. I threw the idea at my
junior colleagues and they happily agreed to it. It was this stand that made me decline the
basket of Imam Pasand mangoes. I was
sure that other senior journalists in the city at that time too had similar
standards with some exceptions here and there.
I should acknowledge here
with all appreciation that reporters of The Hindu, on instructions from
their higher ups, had always declined gifts of every kind, given openly or not,
though they partook in lunches and conducted tours.
This was the position a
few decades ago. Then there were only a
few newspapers besides All India radio and Doordarshan. A lot of water has flowed since then. It is anybody’s guess what the situation is right
now.
A word about Imam
Pasand. It is a rare variety grown only
in select areas in our country. It is
somewhat more expensive than others. A
Hindi or Urdu word, it means Imam’s favourite.
The Imam was Mughal emperor Humayun.
Connoisseurs look at it as an
outstanding variety in view of its rich and unique taste. However, my choice is Banganapalli first and then
Malgova.
In the meantime, let us
enjoy the mango, whatever the variety is, as long as the season lasts! (Ends)
June 01, 2018
