Hundreds, nay they say lakhs, of people throng Hyderabad to take the fish medicine from the Bathini Gowd family, free of charge! Of course the fish costs a small fortune but one pays the fish seller. And in case your thrifty mind thinks you can take the little goldfish in your bowl at home which any way is swimming round and round so aimlessly, it will not work. It’s a special kind of fish and into its mouth the medicine is put and the same is slipped into your throat and I presume it swims round and round your stomach and thereafter it’s best to forget its existence or non- existence.
If you do not suffer from asthma, please desist from making comments! I know of a squeamish young lady who was taken by her mother-in-law and in the older lady’s zeal to cure her daughter-in-law, pushed down the biggest fish she saw. Now that takes guts and faith and who are we to question.
So many illnesses are psychosomatic we are told, so who can tell if Faith gets you through swallowing a fish.
Who is anyone to question anything? For that matter only when one is desperate for a cure does one go for extreme measures and if it gets you through even for an extra day why ever not?
There is also a belief that the Hyderabadi summer ends officially with a shower on the 7th/8th June and this along with the fish medicine is another phase of summer. In fact the beauty of a Hyderabadi summer is that when it gets just too hot to bear there is a summer shower and you experience spring at least for a few hours!
We are also compensated by the mango season. Did you know there are 400 varieties of mangoes in Andhra and just like a school concert where class after class comes on stage in quick succession, so do the mangoes — himayat, benishaan, etc.
Banganapalli: This mango is Andhra Pradesh’s prime variety, and we are fiercely loyal of this moderately juicy, yellow variety.
Totapuri: It’s small green appearance and beak at the end of the fruit resembles a parrot, hence its name (as ‘tota’ means parrot in Hindi). But, don’t expect totapuris to be sweet like the others either! This variety is a bit crunchy and tangy, best served with salt and chilli powder.
Himayat, rasalu…o ne can go on forever. Neelum, Dasheri, Langra, Kesar. Peddarasam, Chinnarasam, Cheukurasam, Navaneetham, Panakalu.
Jalal, Amani, Rajapuri, Royal Special, Bobbili Punasa, Baramasi.
Mallika, Amrapali, Manjeera, Ratna, Arka Aruna, Arka Puneet, Arka Anmol, Neeleshan, Neeluddin, Neelgoa, AU-Rumani etc.
There are over 1000 varietities grown in India over the last 4000 years and Andhra Pradesh tops in production …oops erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. Now Telagana accounts for 30 percent of the production.
The real amazing factor is that each state is fiercely loyal to its own. The Bihari looks down on all other mangoes but their own claiming to grow the most superior. So do we think less of ours??
( Santha John is the founder - director of Coachlife. Mail: santhajohn@coachlife.asia )
