The Memoirs of Bābur 932.11.2

932.11.2

The mango (P. _anbah_) is one of the fruits peculiar to Hindūstān. Hindūstānīs pronounce the _b_ in its name as though no vowel followed it (_i.e._ Sans. _anb_);[1826] this being awkward to utter, some people call the fruit [P.] _naghzak_[1827] as Khwāja Khusrau does:— _Naghzak-i mā_ [var. _khẉash_] _naghz-kun-i būstān, Naghztarīn mewa_ [var. _na`mat_]_-i-Hindūstān_.[1828] Mangoes when good, are very good, but, many as are eaten, few are first-rate. They are usually plucked unripe and ripened in the house. Unripe, they make excellent condiments (_qātīq_), are good also preserved in syrup.[1829] Taking it altogether, the mango is the best fruit of Hindūstān. Some so praise it as to give it preference over all fruits except the musk-melon (T. _qāwūn_), but such praise outmatches it. It resembles the _kārdī_ peach.[1830] It ripens in the rains. It is eaten in two ways: one is to squeeze it to a pulp, make a hole in it, and suck out the juice,—the other, to peel and eat it like the _kārdī_ peach. Its tree grows very large[1831] and has a leaf somewhat resembling the peach-tree's. The trunk is ill-looking and ill-shaped, but in Bengāl and Gujrāt is heard of as growing handsome (_khūb_).[1832]