Mangoficient: 14 aam varieties hang on this khaas tree!

RAJKOT: If mangoes could have talked, they would have sung paeans about this 'indica family tree' in Amreli, which brings extinct mangoes' backstory to life.
Ukabhai Bhatti, a Kesar mango farmer in Ditla village of Dhari taluka in his seventies, has created a 'live album' of a mango tree with 14 different varieties growing on all its branches. Bhatti's magical tree at his home can be ascribed as a celebration of fruits as it bears mangoes from Holi to Diwali! And Bhatti hasn't stopped adding more variety to his magical tree.
Bhatti cultivated the tree with varieties that were cultivated during the Nawab era of Junagadh. Varieties like Naliyero, Gulabiyo, Sindoriyo, Dadmo, Kalo Jamadar, Captain, Pilot, Variyaliyo, Badam, Saradar, Shravaniyo, Ashadhiyo among others.
"There were more than 200 varieties of mangoes that were cultivated in the Nawab's era. Only Kesar has survived to this date and is as popular," said Bhatti, who has christened a few mangoes with monikers that suit the fruit's characteristics.
"I am doing this for the next generation, who should not be ignorant about the rich varieties of mangoes in our region. I have cultivated it at home and these fruits are not for sale, as the yield of each variety is only a few kilos. It is for personal consumption of my family only," said Bhatti, who had a tree with 44 varieties four decades ago, but it died a natural death.
I read a book in which I found the names of some of the indigenous varieties of mangoes which are now extinct. I searched for those varieties in various parts of the country, including Krishi Vidhyapith in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and also in forest areas of Dang etc. I found a few varieties, but some didn't have any known names," Ukabhai Bhatti told TOI.
And so, the farmer named these forest varieties according to their styles - if it stood 'firm', he named it captain, or if its peel was black, it was christened as Kalo Jamadar.
According to Bhatti, the beauty is that each variety gives fruit at different times. Like, the fruits of some varieties start early in the season, while others flower late in the season. This tree, therefore, gives fruit from Holi to Diwali.
In Gujarat, Gir region is a hub of Kesar mango. Kesar farms spread across Junagadh, Amreli, Gir Somnath and Bhavnagar districts, which has also received GI tag and the mango's sweet taste has tickled palates the world over.