CLIMBING THE MANGO TREES--A MEMOIR OF A CHILDHOOD IN INDIA

Title: Climbing The Mango Trees


Author:Madhur Jaffrey

Price:Rs 642

I have always been fascinated by Madhur Jaffrey.I came across this petite lady on one of her food shows while I was randomly browsing channels.More than the recipes shown ,the way she presented it all was so captivating that I began following the show .I can best be described as an armchair cook.
I love reading about food and food memoirs,so when I got to know that Madhur had written a book on her childhood,I immediately put it on my to- read list and I am very happy that I did.

Climbing the mango trees is an endearing account of a childhood in Delhi spent in pre-partition India.Madhur fondly recounts staying in an extended joint family,presided by her grand father,her relations with her various aunts ,uncles and cousins and her rendezvous with food.The lip-smacking food which she grew up having fond memories of  remained forever imprinted in her memories.

I savored this book and was instantly transported to the Delhi Madhur lived in,years ago.I saw her climbing the mango trees in the orchard around her house,armed with a mixture of salt,pepper,ground chillies and roasted cumin,pick-nicking in the Himalayan foothills on meatballs stuffed with raisins and mint and tucking into freshly fried pooris.I saw her sampling the heady flavors in the lunch boxes of Muslim friends,sneaking tastes of exotic street fare with her Mom before heading back  home.
I shared her distress over partition ,which affected her very deeply.

Madhur comes across as a very independent,sensitive individual who loved uncovering her family's many layered history which she speaks of in the book without making it sound boring.She also speaks about her family's trials in the book but it is more about her happy childhood filled with the things she is fond of that makes for the most part.

At the end of the book Madhur gives more than thirty mouth-watering recipes which ,I have book-marked to try out sometime in life when I get out of my arm-chair cook mode.More than anything else,I loved the book for its sheer simplicity and writing style.In my opinion its a must-read for people who love reading food memoirs .I rate it a 3 out of 5.