Parrot-Tasted Mango
I was a great tree climber when I was young. Our backyard
had a huge mango tree with trunk over a meter in diameter that shot straight up,
branchless, for over 20 feet before it branched out to a large Mango Tree that
spread over two to three backyards of neighboring homes on either side. This tree
was hard to climb. However, there was another thinner Jack Fruit tree that grew
tall and pushed through some of the branches of the mango tree and towered over
the top on one side of the backyard. During peak mango season, the mango tree
was awash with mangoes hanging from all parts of the tree and some of them are
easy to reach in the branches abutting the Jack Fruit tree. On many warm quiet
summer afternoons, when my mother and my aunt were asleep, there would be no
one to supervise, and I would quietly climb up the Jack Fruit tree, pluck the
fresh mangoes, climb down, and eat them with a side of salt and chili powder. I
would have my best pick as there would be plentiful in every branch and
depending on my appetite, I would select the size. Sometimes, I would share it
with my friends from the neighborhood.
Mango season attracts parrots from near and far. I have seen
swarms of them during late afternoons and evening, spread throughout the tree
and feasting on the plump mangoes. Of course, this would damage the fruits and
destroy the bounty, but among us kids, there was a general fascination about the
mangoes nipped or partially eaten by the parrots. We used to think that parrots
would know what mango to eat, and it would pick only the ones that taste best.
Hence, we used to fight for mangoes that parrots already tasted and left. The
kid who got the parrot-tasted mango would be a hero, and others would beg to
get a piece of it.
I, when I am in a naughty mood, sometimes played a trick on
my unsuspecting friends. When none of my friends was around, I would sneak to
the backyard, climb up the Jack Fruit tree, and reach the canopy of the branch
from the mango tree so I can access the mangoes without plucking them. I would
gently pull the hanging mango near me so that it does not come off the stem,
bring it near my mouth, and would eat it right there as it hung, take a few
bites, and then leave it hanging on the tree. I would do this for a few choice
mangoes in that bunch, and would come down, and go about my business. Later,
when my gang of friends comes to play, I would innocently direct them towards
that mango cluster near the top of the Jack Fruit tree and act excited as if we
found a number of parrot-tasted mangoes. I would graciously offer to climb up
the Jack Fruit tree, pluck the “Parrot-eaten” mango, give it to them, and I
will watch them enjoy the mango, think about my devious plan to fool them as I
contained myself from laughing out loud.
Picture suggestion
Boy with a naughty smile, surrounded by similar age boys,
all wearing loose shirt, half trousers in our backyard. Mango tree in the
backdrop (something like the picture of you and Gopi annna that dad shared)
thrusting the “parrot eaten” mango to his surprised friends.
Some links
https://birdybirdybirdy.com/can-parrots-eat-mango/
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