Mangoes and Mughals

The Mango obsession: An only legacy that flowed impeccably from one generation to another in the Mughal empire. 

Have you ever wondered about what made Babur come to India?

Surely Daulat Khan Lodi invited Babur as He assured a good portion of the Lodi empire and the war gift but to convince Babur to face Rana Sanga of Mewar necessitated something far unique and that "something unique" was mangoes.

 A few decades later, his great-grandson Aurangzeb offered mangoes to Shah Abbas of Persia to aid him in his fight for the throne. Later, the King of Balkan also had given Aurangzeb 200 camel loads of dry fruits and mangoes as a peace pact.

There was a myth that Humayun while on the run from India to Kabul assured that mangoes were adequate to supply with the help of Babar's courier system.

While Akbar built the Lakhi Bagh (near Darbhanga) of 100 thousand mango trees – one of the earliest example of grafting of mangoes, which the Nawab of Rampur tried emulating under the Crown’s rule – grandson Shah Jehan – the most indulgent emperor – built a special courier lane between Delhi and Mahratta Coast so that he could have mangoes till the beginning of spring, especially those coming from one tree in Mazagong, from which, says Mrs Graham Journal, all the mangoes available in the court were grafted.

One of the earliest grafting examples was of Mangoes as Akhar built the Lakhi Bagh near Darbhanga of 100 thousand mango trees. 

The Nawab of  Rampur endeavour copying under the crown's rule built a unique courier lane linking Delhi and Mahratta coast so that he could have mangoes till the inception of spring, mainly those coming from one tree in Mazagong, says Mrs Graham Journal, all the mangoes were grafted.

Many believe that one of the reasons that Shah Jehan liked Dara Sikoh and chose him as his heir-apparent was that Dara was a skilled horticulturist, and had curated the “Nuskha Dar Fanni Falahat,” which has the details of mangoes includes the varieties of mangoes and other regions where mangoes can be grafted and assured that the legacy of mangoes persists for his generation. Today this book is one of the finest pieces of work on the traditional art of grafting.

Abul Fazal’s Ain-i-Akbari and Tuzuk-e-Jehangiri are the only two books that not only have detailed descriptions of the varieties of mangoes, each divided by quality, smell, shape, aromas but also how each of the emperors loved theirs. After all, each emperor built his orchard just to ensure he had enough of the fruit – and in varieties.

The changing in power affected mangoes from their position of empire builder to simply a fruit. And in the days to come, numerous mango varieties disappeared but what didn't disappear is its sweet happiness- which makes it today's one of the best fruits for summer!