The fragrance of Mangoes at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan, Lucknow, right from the entrance to the exit, was a one time experience that anyone could have. There were mangoes galore, anywhere and everywhere one could see.
There were farmers selling mangoes, people making dishes out of mangoes, storytellers narrating tales of mangoes and people taking pictures of mangoes. Such were the two days at the UP Mango Festival 2018 - 23rd and 24th June 2018.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Cabinet Minister Dr. Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Governor Ram Naik, Highlighted UP’s relationship with Mangoes
The festival was inaugurated by UP CM, Yogi Adityanath on 23rd June 2018. He congratulated all Mango growers and traders on the occasion, citing that his best wishes are with everyone who is trying to take India towards progress by organizing and preserving its culture and traditions. He extended his best wishes to everyone for preserving India's culture and traditions, thereby leading her to a glorious future.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath threw light upon the relationship that Uttar Pradesh has with Mango Orchards. 2.63 hectares of land in Uttar Pradesh is under Mango Orchards and so, UP alone produces 40 - 45 lakh metric tonnes of Mangoes every year.
Cabinet Minister, Dr. Rita Bahuguna Joshi visited each stall and motivated farmers, traders, and entrepreneurs.
Governor Ram Naik concluded Mango Festival 2018, supporting the festival since 2015. He praised the team saying that brand building and marketing is what the farmers need to get better prices for their crop and to bring UP on the Mango Map.
More than 700 varieties of Mangoes were exhibited
In a cold shaded hall, mangoes were resting on the shelves of the display counter, for everyone to admire them. Red, yellow, green, orange and brown - in different shapes and sizes - mangoes were luring everyone with their delectable fragrance, to eat them.
Thankfully no one was allowed to touch the mangoes on display. (Otherwise, there would have been none left to display!! ) There were barriers to prevent people from jumping onto mangoes, besides the watchmen. Tight security you see!
Mango based tantalized our taste buds
There were bottles of Mango Pickle, Mango Jam, Aam Panna, Mango Squash, Aam Murabba, Aam Papad, Mango Juice, etc. teasing the visitors at the Mango Festival. You could just salivate and watch the bottles smirking at you.
Lucknow's popular brands like Sweet Nothings, Cherry Tree, Blossom Tea, Arsh Fusion Couture, Royal Honey, Arora Achaar and more, promoted special mango products at a large scale.
From mango based skin care to every kind of food made with mango, the UP Mango Festival 2018 had it all.
Mango Art put up by Dhiraj Singh was a thing of beauty
And hence, a joy forever. The stall of artist Dhiraj Singh, who is mad about mangoes, displayed beautifully executed pieces of art on Mangoes. Each piece was a unique abstract mango painting, to be viewed from top when hung.
Artist Dhiraj Singh’s mangoes were not only yellow but in varied colours. They had beautiful detailing, which no ordinary thing. Just like real mangoes, these painted mangoes too brought a lot of joy and happiness to everyone. Many visitors were found clicking pictures with them.
Beej Guthli Club by Gardening Specialist Mrinalini came with a tangy flavour
Beej Guthli Club added more to the glamour of 6th Uttar Pradesh Mango Festival with their eco-friendly activities and programmes. There was a huge crowd gathered for Swantra Talim at their show, especially children.
They had a lot of fun activities for everyone, by way of which they educated everyone about more responsible food consumption behavior, reduced food wastage and rebirth of guthalis.
Zikr-e-aam was all over the UP Mango Festival 2018
There were cultural events going on in the auditorium simultaneously. Zirk-e-Aam, a performance by Himanshu Bajpai, left everyone awestruck. He presented beautiful stories of people an mangoes, and narrated some beautiful shers of renowned poets.
Himanshu Bajpai also presented Raseele Aam ki Ras Bhari Kahani, a fascinating story telling activity for children. But much to our surprise, the session was equally enjoyed by both the children and grown-ups.
Mirasans entertained the audience with Awadhi Folk Ballads
Traditional Live Music Band named “Mirasans” performanced Awadhi folk ballads to entertain the visitors and kept them spell bound. Melodious strains of popular folk songs such as mehendi ni mehendi (a traditional henna song) and phullan di bahar (flowers in bloom), were heard live.
The “Mirasans” claim to have inherited their singing skills from the family of Deva Sharif. This was indeed was an enthralling performance at Lucknow Mango Festival 2018.
Masterchef Pankaj Bhadouria judged the Mango Cooking Contest
People participated enthusiastically in the mango contest wherein they had to make dishes out of mangoes. Masterchef Pankaj Bhadaouria herself loves mangoes and on tasting these dishes, she felt pampered!
A few notable dishes were Mango Salsa by Priti Gupta, Mango Brushetta by Shefali Gupta, Smoothe Firni by Virendra Kaur, Chutni wali Ghujiya by Mamata Kholi, Mango Thai curry by Deepti Jaitely and special dish of Enayat Habibullah.
Aam ki khususiyaat by Nawab Jafar Mir Abdullah disclosed secrets of Mangoes
Everybody sitting in the auditorium was spellbound when Nawab Jafar Mir Abdullah highlighted many facts and secrets about mangoes. His interactive session was like adding mango flavour to the traditional aromatic dishes.
It was a mango treat for people at UP Mango Festival 2018, for such tales from history, which are full of fun and admiration are rarely told and even heard. The recently concluded two-day UP Mango Festival, has left everyone waiting for its next season.
And the day is not far when Lucknow shall become the Mango Capital of India
It is a matter of pride for all of us that the city of Lucknow hosts such a Mango Festival of this magnitude to give mangoes their due importance. As a part of the festival, we must encourage all farmers who are working hard to produce and sell mangoes.
To ease out the process, Mrs. Jyotsna Habibullah, founder of UP Mango Festival, has taken up the initiative to develop a mobile app for farmers. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Kaushal Vikas Kendra team collaborated with Awadh Growers Association to develop a mobile app for farmers.
The ‘Aam Sahaayata’ app, which caters to the benefit and monetary upliftment of the farmers was launched at 6th UP Mango Festival on 24th March, 2018.
This app has been developed for connecting the farmers to the the general masses, so that people can directly buy the mangoes from the farmers, eliminating the hierarchy in the process of production-consumption.
Jyotsana Kaur Habibullah and UP Mango Festival team celebrate everything associated with Mangoes
Every year, the UP Mango Festival, led by Jyotsna Kaur Habibullah and an enthusiastic volunteer team of professionals and students, brings ripened mangoes to delight us in the scorching heat of June.
But that doesn’t deter us. Just like hundreds of people who attended the UP Mango Festival 2018, we too celebrated everything associated with Mangoes. We congratulate the entire team on the success of Mango Festival 2018.
And we, at Feeding Trends, are eagerly looking out for its next season!
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