India, May 17 -- Which fruit can be had in its raw form as well as when is it ripe? What lends itself to pickles, chutneys, souffles, drinks, ice creams and cakes? What can be added to dals for a nice texture or eaten on its own as a dessert? Of course, the answer is none other than mango. And in India, the varieties are innumerable. While the Hapus or alphonso holds sway in the western parts, the Dussehri , Langda and Chausa are the favourites in the Hindi belt. Of course, Andhra loves it Baganpalli and Bengal its Malda .

History yields some very interesting facts and figures about this celebrated fruit. Fossils indicate that the mango made its first appearance between 25 to 30 million years ago in Northeast India, Myanmar and Banglades...