By V. Shourabh

Litchi fruit wasn’t a common sight in Mysuru in those days. But in the modern day, Litchi fruits have made it to the markets of Mysuru. Litchi is a fleshy fruit and is a native of Southeast Asia. This small flavoured fruit is packed with essential nutrients, fibres and antioxidants. The outer surface of the fruit has a rough skin texture and the fleshy juicy part is inside.

Mohammad Karim, a teenage boy sells Litchis on his cart at the entrance of Mysuru Central Prison on Ashoka Road in Mysuru. Speaking to Star of Mysore, he said, “Litchi has a very good smell and taste. People love this fruit in Northern India. I make a pretty good decent business by selling Litchi here. The season for this fruit is from May to August. As my cart is on the main road, many people stop by to look at this fruit. They confuse Litchi to be Strawberry.”

He adds, “After I introduce the fruit to them, they tend to buy it. If the fruit gets more reach and awareness, it will definitely help our business as well as people can get introduced to this heavenly fruit. But there are other people who come exclusively to buy Litchi from me.  I also sell Strawberries and Anjur. My dad takes care of the watermelon business.”

“We get the Litchi fruit from Delhi. They are grown over there and it is transported to Bengaluru airport. And from there we get it to Mysuru and later sell it here and make profit. This fruit increases the white blood cells in the blood. I managed to complete my SSLC. But now I will have to help my father and thus now I have also come into this fruit selling business. One kg of Litchi fruit costs about Rs. 250,” he says.

While the exterior surface texture and colour of Litchi seems narrowly close to that of a Strawberry, the taste and the aroma of Litchi fruit is an altogether different experience.