It is a busy month for organic farmer Arya Bhaskar. The 46-year-old is out in his 40-acre mango orchard, Kowmara Farms, at Andipatti near Palani, harvesting India’s favourite fruit. His staff of six assemble during the wee hours of the day to pluck large, semi-ripe yellow mangoes from each tree.
Arya has meticulously trained them in harvesting process, de-sapping, washing the mangoes in lukewarm water and finally sorting them. Once every two days, Arya transports the harvest to Coimbatore from where it is dispatched to Chennai via parcel service. It reaches local organic stores in the city and finally lands in the hands of eager mango-lovers, waiting to argue over who gets to eat the pulp around the seed.
