Indian mango festival in Washington draws 8,000 as US demand rises

Thousands of people gathered in Washington on Saturday as the Embassy of India hosted a tasting session of Indian mangoes and food, drawing large crowds to its annual summer event, 'Taste the Tropical Magic'. The event at Dupont Circle saw visitors turn up for varieties such as Kesar, Langra and Malda, along with biryani, lassi, mango halwa, Indian tea and coffee.

The response was strong, with more than 8,000 people signing up and queues continuing till the close of the nearly three-hour event. India’s ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, said the embassy was planning to hold food promotion events more frequently, while officials said exports of Indian mangoes to the US have been rising.

Indian-Americans came from neighbouring Virginia and Maryland to relive old memories and enjoy the mangoes on offer. “I have memories of my grandmother serving us mangoes during the summers. I came here just to get a taste of Indian mangoes,” Disha, a US citizen born to Indian immigrant parents, said while eating Kesar. “This is the yummiest of the mangoes I have ever had,” said Andrew, who is touring the US to watch the World Cup football.

The event has been a regular part of Washington’s summer calendar for the past several years and has grown bigger with each passing year. “It’s not just a slice of mango or a slice of India, but the flavours of India that are on offer here,” Kwatra said. Last year, the embassy had put up one tasting booth, which drew massive crowds. This time, five tasting booths were set up for visitors.

Mango lovers lined up at the booths, which offered not just mangoes but also tastings of lassi, succulent biryani, mango halwa, and Indian tea and coffee. “Mango is a delicate fruit, and we have been able to manage superfast logistics to ensure that the Indian diaspora in the US gets the best value for their money,” said Kaushal Khakar, CEO of Kay Bee Exports.

Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Promotion Authority Chairman Abhishek Dev said mango exports to the US have been increasing. “Last year, we exported 2300 tonnes of mangoes to the US. This year, we surpassed that figure a month back,” Dev said.

The story of Indian mangoes in the US goes back to 2006, when then US President George W Bush cleared the way for shipments to America, a move that was welcomed as enthusiastically as the announcement on working towards the India-US civil nuclear deal. The US had earlier banned mango imports from India because of the mango seed weevil, a pest not found in North America. A solution was found in January 2006, when the Agriculture Department allowed imports of produce treated with low doses of irradiation, and the first batch of Indian Alphonso mangoes was received with great enthusiasm and presented to then US Trade Representative Susan Schwab.

The Washington tasting session brought together memories, food and growing trade, with thousands turning up to sample Indian mangoes and other dishes as the embassy expanded an event that has become a popular part of the city’s summer calendar.

With PTI Inputs