Blossoming Mango: My Life Story | By Srinithi, 8, Kolkata

I’m the King of Fruits and come from a single seed. I give yummy mangoes to people of all ages. Would you like to hear my interesting birth story? Gather around, my friends, and I’ll share it with you.

An affluent, kind man bought me in a packet from a local market and sowed me in a huge orchard with other brothers and sisters. I was only a seed back then, and I hadn’t even flowered into a green sapling. As a result, I was a little intimidated by the larger trees. I told myself not to be afraid and took comfort in the fact that some of the seeds were younger than I was.

My next-door neighbor was a boastful, broad-leaf banana tree, fully grown and always showing her fruits. Carter, the rich man’s farmer, looked after me very well. He enjoyed talking to me and praising my progress. He gave me lots of sunlight and watered me every day. He didn’t mind that he was very busy with me and the addition of the other trees.

I noticed clouds on the horizon as my third week approached. Carter found my body parts wet every morning when he came to see me. He assumed that most of the morning dew had fallen on me, but it was really because I cried myself to sleep almost every day, terrified that I would never rise above the ground. But then, out of nowhere, I found myself transformed into a vibrant green shoot!

I began swaying as I began to sweat profusely from excitement. Bulbous, the dainty banana tree, looked down at me from her upturned leaf and said, “Can’t you stop for a second? (She didn’t like anyone showing off except herself.) Of course, I wouldn’t expect you to know proper tree etiquette; we never brag.” This happened all the time around me: Bulbous correcting me in every way she could, my owner’s pets annoying us, children scrambling up Sturdy-Jackfruit and Iron-Apple (named after their strength). Because the orchard was next to a market, hearing people haggle over the price of goods ranging from hairbrushes to vegetables was a daily occurrence.

One day, cyclone called ‘Amphan’ wreaked havoc on the town, severely injuring some of my relatives. Storm clouds had also darkened over our orchard, and Bulbous had forgotten to criticise as he looked up at them.The hailstorm then arrived and began to lash down furiously, drenching us. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck me! I snarled and groaned inwardly. The trees appeared terrified, with some reaching out their branches to assist me. Bulbous, too, had a concerned expression on her face. It rained for three days straight, and I had lost most of my crops due to the ‘lightning strike.’ However, after a few months of being nursed back to health by Mother Nature’s nourishing wind and light, I was able to re-grow all of my fruits. I’ve grown into a lush, evergreen mango tree with delicious, succulent mango fruits that people fight over.