Delhi's mango festival begins

The 25th edition of the international mango festival at Dilli Haat in west Delhi displayed mangoes not only from India but also from abroad, as far as from Africa. The three-day festival started Friday.

'Sensation' from South Africa, 'mangifera zeylanica' from Sri Lanka and 'mangifera odorata' from Malaysia were among the foreign variety of mangoes on display.

"The festival aims at popularising mangoes all over India. We want people of all age groups to learn and understand the diverse variety of mangoes," Roney George from Delhi Tourism told IANS.

The festival is being held since 1978.

"The world has about 1,200 kinds of mangoes available in different areas and seasons. Our stall displays 30-35 species of them -- alphanso, bombay green, dasheri, chausaa, langra from the north and kesar from the West," said C.P. Singh, professor of Horticulture, Uttarakhand University.

A mango almost double the normal size of a regular mango named "haathi" a was a great attraction among the visitors. With interesting names like gulabjamun, veer zara and hawa hawai, the mangoes found a lot of buyers.

"This is a platform where one can have a taste of mangoes which otherwise are not available easily in nearby markets," said Rakesh Sharma, a regular visitor at the festival.

It is organised by the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation in collaboration with the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, the National Horticultural Board and the New Delhi Municipal Council.