THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When it comes to mangoes, ‘Kottukonam varikka’ is undoubtedly Thiruvananthapuram’s Alphonso. The sweet, yellowish and fleshy mango with small seeds and less fibre will tickle your tongue by its very sight.
Kottukonam varikka or ‘Chenka varikka’, the variety that is in great demand this summer, hails from a village near Parassala. Through this tasty mango, a small village in Kunnathukal panchayat has also risen to fame. “The season has just begun. Wait for a week, Kottukonam varikka will conquer the market,’’ says Gabriel, the seniormost member of the Kottukonam family.
But, things are not as bright as in the past. A visit to Kottukonam will give you a rather disappointing picture. The mango groves in this tiny village have been replaced by huge rubber plantations and plantain cultivation. What happened to the mango trees in this village? Gabriel remembers a time when they used to have at least 15 mango trees around every house and children used to jump from one tree to another for plucking mangoes during summer holidays.
The change has happened during the last 25 years with the more profitable rubber plantations emerging in the area. Like their neighbours, Kottukonam farmers also thought it was wiser to focus on cash crops like rubber which give good yield during most part of the year, than sticking on to nostalgic crops like mangoes. But, in most of the houses, there are one or two mango trees which have been preserved by the older generation as a link to the past.
There is an interesting story behind the fame of Chenka varika mango. The place Kottukonam under Kunnathukal village on Kerala-Tamil Nadu border was gifted to a Brahmin by the Maharaja of Travancore centuries ago. Every year, during May, the villagers sent the most delicious mangoes produced in the region to Kowdiar palace as their sweet offering to the king. “This tradition continued for several years,’’ recalls Gabriel.
The Maharajas fondly called the mango Kottukonam varikka. Word spread about the heavenly taste of this mango from sources within the palace. The mango and the place became more popular when merchants from all across the State started coming to the village to buy mangoes.
Kottukonam mango is in high demand in the market, but there is an acute shortage as its presence is now limited to areas like Nedumangad, Nanthencode, Venjaramoodu, Kattakkada, Vilappilsala, Pothencode and Powdikonam. The mango, which is bought at Rs 25 per kg from the farmers, is sold at Rs 40 per kg in the wholesale market. The cost will go up to Rs 60 to 80 for a kg in retail shops.
trivandrum@epmltd.com