Sunday, May 27, 2001		Article

Malda: the mango basket of India
Jayanti Roy

MALDA is the mango bowl of India, where the sun, water and verdure interact to create a panorama of exquisite aesthetics. Here, the azure of the sky, gold of the mangoes, silver of the teeming fish, emerald of the countryside and the brick-red of the royal ruins provide a kaleidoscope to the visitors that appeals directly to both the heart and the mind.

Malda is a quiet district of West Bengal situated at the narrow neck of the state where its north and south join. Geographically, it is the gateway to the hilly north Bengal and other north-eastern states. The trains running between these states and Delhi or Kolkata also pass through Malda. It is an overnight journey from Kolkata by road through National Highway 34.

As you approach Malda, you cross the Farakka Barrage — a towering human effort to harness the energy of the vast waters of the Ganga — and the National Thermal Plant Corporation (NTPC) on its banks. The Ganga is not the only river that passes through Malda, there are nine other big and small rivers. Besides, there are several ponds, lakes, and water bodies that catch the shimmering sun like a clear mirror and leave you enchanted. The proximity to water has made the landscape verdant and salubrious. The picturesque surroundings act as a balm to the nerves jarred by stress, grind and pollution.

The next thing you notice is the vast expanses of mango orchards spread over acres on both sides of the highway. Neat rows of ancient mango trees stand like sentinels, proud in their shiny armour of shapely leaves, large girths and their thick shade falling on the ground in a large black circle. As much as 51,000 acres of land in Malda is under orchards and 25 per cent of the mango trees of West Bengal are here. Doodhkumar, Mohanbhog, Bharti, Fania, Fazli and Bou-pagla are some of the poetic names given to the different varieties of the fruit, which has an economic importance in the life of Malda.

Silk is another natural product that is associated with Malda from ancient times and is almost a cottage industry. You can witness several humble households busy in the different processes of producing silk, from cutting of mulberry leaves to drying of cocoons.

Folks in the countryside fulfil their basic needs from nature. Theirs is a symbiotic relationship with nature. They nurture nature and the nature gifts them with bounties. Their mud huts with terracotta-tiled roofs, small village shops, where you can still get a nice cup of tea for just 50 paise, and their meal of home-grown vegetables and self-caught fish are proof enough of their typical Indian rural existence.

The folk culture is kept alive with the practice of the age-old tradition of Gambheera-Gaan — a sort of social satire in the form of poems and songs. Fairs and festivals associated with religious events are still celebrated with the same fervour and gaiety. Ramkeli is one such fair which can boast of being the largest yearly congregation of Krishna devotees, the Baishnabs.

And then there are the royal ruins. It is difficult to believe that a place so strongly flavoured with rural characters was once the strategic hub of life in the early medieval age. It was either in Gaur or Pandua — two places near Malda — that the capital kingdom of the eastern regions was located. Witness to that glorious era are the ruins of several fortresses, mosques, tombs, city walls, victory towers and triumphal archways dotting the landscape at these places, built within a span of four centuries from 1235-1655 AD. The ruins, now under the care of the Archaeological Survey of India, are still in a good condition. They are built of special small bricks and decorated with glazed tiles in the Islamic architectural style. These beautiful buildings evoke the feeling of reliving history.

While returning from Malda one is often loaded with mangoes, mango-products and yards of silk. Not only this, there is at least one experience for each of the senses. There is the taste of mangoes, the feel of silk, the fresh fragrance of nature, the sound of folk music and numerous soothing and serene views for your eyes.