Viva ! Artocarpus lakoocha

i have travelled quite a lot...although virtually though to find what i had been looking for so long. That tete e tete i had with Sanjoo yesterday formed an integral part of my travel and long after he had gone i searched the internet seeking out the fruits and the trees he had talked about. i guess knowing the vernacular name has its disadvantages. Thus finally before i signed off i typed , ' lesser known fruits ' on my Google search box. Once again i started on another journey which took me to the US, UK , Malaysia and Indonesia. Found a couple of what i had been looking for. The text book aka the scientific names of kafal and one other. Won't say i was bang on to all the six fruits he had talked about instead i had enough for the hungry to know more of two if not six. Nobaad nobaad at all. It sufficed for the time being for i was enriched with not only the nutritional value but also the brilliant sights of the plant/ tree/ shrubs. Satisfied and before hitting the sack i sensed the same intuition...of being able to find my own burhar sooner than i have expected. Probably because i knew exactly now which path to take.

This morning saw me with that hurrah moment. My Burhar was always there where it should have been all the time. The culprit was the vernacular name...and sadly there were no posts with that name. Bihar the place of my birth and growth has four major local dialects. The Bhojpuri being the most well-known. But then there is Magahi, Angika and the sweetest of them all Mythili. i hail from the Bhagalpur district and that part of Bhagalpur which speaks Angika. One peculiarity of Angika being using R instead of L in their dialect. Thus peela meaning color yellow is Peera, kela meaning banana is Kera, jhola meaning bag is Jhora and similarly katahal meaning jackfruit is Katahar so on and so forth.
Thus the reason my travelling round the various sites was not giving the desired result. All along i had been searching for burhar pronounced bur + her = burhar when as a matter of fact it was Burhal . The enlightenment and thus this reasoning dawned upon me only after i had typed, ' lesser known fruits of India '. There it was...the picture of  the tree, it's broad leaved foliage and many delightfully clear images of the forgotten fruit. Bumpy and folded from outside and visually so appealing from the inside which is the edible part. Not only that but other information about the taste, the nutritional value and why it is getting rarer. i wish i could copy paste the picture here on my page but ever since i did my post on Shami tree and a gentleman was just too annoyed when i had used his picture with the source i think it would be best if i provide the link where Burhal/ Barhal can be seen and read about.
However i shall not let go the opportunity of using the free resource. So my Barhal looks like this.

now i am waiting for Sanjoo to be back from his holidays. Then i will ask him if he knows the tree and the taste of Burhal . Will remember to ask the name in his own Kumaoni language.
i  wonder if Mr Prasoon Joshi and many like him who still cherish memories of their childhood fruits...if they know the taste of this tangy fruit. the fibers of which look similar in texture to jackfruit but so brilliant in color what to talk of the juicy, sweet and sour feel to the palate. Something which is pleasant in smell and tastes somewhat like a kiwi...

As for me i feel fortunate that my Burhar exists and is thriving not only in India but has traveled too. From India to the other countries. Specially South Asia and that it is commonly known as Monkey Jack/ Emerald Jack also sounding so cute- Lakoocha.

Also grateful and deeply indebted to all the good souls who have launched posts on my Burhar/Burhal complete with shots and lots of information that i was bereft of all these days. My sincere thanks to Professor Deepa Dwivedi of http://www.cropsforthefuture.org/ and her article ' Barhal, a little-known fruit from northern India'. Had it not been for her article and thus the knowledge that i obtained of my Burhar i would not have had such an enriching journey. Through her post i learnt the scientific name Artocarpus lakoocha and the ride from then on was such a smooth one. Of the kind that not only excited me but also refreshed the bored to silence and sulking me.
Need to thank blogger Catherine Reddy for her ' All About Lakoocha' at theindianvegan.blogspot.in whose blog nourished by feeding the dil maange more me. ( heart wants)

Finally but most importantly Mr Spencer Woodard in his weblog called 'anthropogen' does much more than giving facts alone. His blog inspires. The amazing work done by him in his weblog is an ideal  for bloggers like me who blog not only for sharing the knowledge/ experience they would've gained but also for the sake of preservation and contribution. i wish one day i am rich enough to contribute with the same commitment and passion as he has done and is still doing in all possible ways. i take this opportunity in quoting his words, " I am interested in the history of human relationships with plants and how the ever-changing state of these relationships has affected the ways in which our species interacts with and influences larger ecological systems in our midst."
My journey which started first with Sanjoo and later with Professor Deepa Dwivedi traversing many on Artocarpus lakoocha and Catherine Reddy came a full circle with Mr Spencer Woodard at http://anthropogen.com/2008/05/05/unidentified-fruit-orange-bumpy/

Right now reliving the memories of that journey is delighting me the same way as when one enjoys photos of the journey taken after hitting base. Another great feeling is like i have accomplished something. If not for humanity sakes but for myself and my heart sings with joy to know that what i thought had gone extinct is very much alive and kicking.

Before i quit i want to share the environment anthem of the 70's from Joni Mitchell once again. Not before quoting her words, " I wrote 'Big Yellow Taxi' on my first trip to Hawaii. I took a taxi to the hotel and when I woke up the next morning, I threw back the curtains and saw these beautiful green mountains in the distance. Then, I looked down and there was a parking lot as far as the eye could see, and it broke my heart... this blight on paradise. That's when I sat down and wrote the song. "



                                                         - : Image Courtesy :-
                                       From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository

Kafal and where art thou Burhar

Sometimes it amazes me to realize that my country is so rich in variety. Rich with many many of that of which i don't have the faintest idea about. Other times there is this half hearted desire to just pack a few necessary belongings and start on a journey from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. To know and get an idea of all things existing and more about those which might not exist. Sure one gets interested in holding on to some if not all of that which will be lost forever. Rituals, culture, art, birds, trees, plants and last but not the least the lesser known bounties of nature savored through the palate and the sight.

Then one fine day as you dedicate your time to read an article about the person you admire tremendously as a writer the urge becomes like a longing and you get serious about doing something.
The article an interview of the most admired poet/composer/jingle ad man in which he goes down memory lane to talk about how he matured as a poet then composer and now a very inspiring story teller. All of his narration kept me attentive to what he had to say about his journey but what stopped me in my tracts was this word Kafal. Just for anyone who would care to know i am talking about none other than Mr Prasoon Joshi.
Reminiscing he says," I lived amidst nature and always ate this wild fruit called Kafal. The fruit was getting extinct and there was no reason for anyone to save it. But those are the ways of nature, when it tells you, through murmurs, if you want to listen. Today, it is shouting out loud. But when the kafal was disappearing, no one heard it. I could hear it every time i went back. I had memories of my parents plucking Kafals for me. ..."

Now i have memories of this weird rather some may call it ugly looking but delightful to eat fruit of my childhood. In appearance somewhat like cheekoo ( Sapodilla) although not uniformly round but rather having bumps and folds with exactly the same texture and color of the skin of Cheekoo. A fruit called in colloquial as Burhar in my own homestate Bihar. The tree huge with broad leaves and the fruit delicious with it's sweet and sour taste. Juicy fibres, orangish golden with a stony seed inside. i have searched the Internet in vain and still searching...for the tree...for some pictures of the fruit. Someone told me about the tree still existing somewhere but as for the fruit none of the markets including small town village markets have it anymore. Any place i visit which still has forests and is renowned for it's wide variety i keep asking the locals about this fruit but my questions at best give me countenances which are trying to figure out the structure of that mysterious fruit the hyper lady is talking about. Some the very elderly have confirmed about my memory and it pleases me to see an affirmative nod but they too feel helpless in guiding me to the where . Thus i am led to presume that just like Kafal, Burhar has gone or going extinct too.

This time though Mr Prasoon Joshi's Kafal made me turn towards my own boy Friday Sanjay Singh Negi instead of Mr Google. Young sweet chap who is attentive and quite amused by this Madam of his who is always quizzing him on not only for the local names of flora but also about the lesser known fruits of the hills and tales of his childhood spent in his homeland. He belongs to Uttarakhand too. i simply love the glow on his face and that smile that seems innocently angelic like a child when he talks about some of those. Thus Hisaalu, Kirmodi, Kilmoda, Mehal, Ghigharu...and something of the fruit of which they played with called Baanjh.

Meet Mr Sanjay Singh Negi although when i call for him it's always Sanjoo instead of Sanjay. i asked him to choose one pic of his from his mobile and send it to me and this is what he sent. Although the neon heart is predominant and the pic has none of those expressions that i'm talking about it suffices for the time being to have him here as i ask about Kafal and the rest.

Sanjoo

Sanjoo speaks about Kafal fondly too and i am indeed indebted for he guided me to not only where to find it for the time being but also the correct local pronunciation too which is kaa + phal = kaaphal
So i happily present Kaaphal thanks to Sanjoo and  http://uttarakhand-devbhoomi.blogspot.in

Me : Sanjoo this looks amazing tell me how it tastes...

Sanjoo: Madam it has a sweet and sour taste. The tree is a big tree and the fruit has to be eaten quickly or it starts sweating and becomes mushy. Just for an hour that's how much you can keep it. There is another one quite like it and it is called Hisaalu/ Hinsaar. Hisaalu is a creeper which looks like a rambling rose bush with thorns and serrated leaves but that from a distance. The fruit looks similar to Kaaphal but is golden yellow in color and aromatic too. Also even quicker to sweat and be mushy than Kaaphal...

Me : Does it taste like Phalsa ( Mulberry) it looks similar to that...

Sanjoo chuckles and shakes his head in the negative but he is not over yet. With a glint that conveys some sense of pride about his beautiful land and it's amazing bounties he tells me all he can remember of the fruits no longer to be seen but perhaps still existing in the forests at higher altitudes.

He sure has lots to enlighten me with as he carries on. i listen to him with rapt attention planning a journey too in my mind promising myself that i shall seek these that he is talking about out...at least till i can. Who knows that while tasting and knowing how to play with some fruits like Sanjoo i might have a reconnoiter with my own Burhar.

My attempt at doing something may be a selfish one...that to see, know and savor but in my own way this should be my first step. After all how will i take care to nurture that of which i have never known before. 

Thank you Prasoon Joshi jee (jee a respectable term in Hindi ) for introducing me to Kafal and sharing with me this love of all that is local. Also for opening the can of warmth which seems to melt that ice of formality and protocol and makes Sanjoo accept me as something more than just being the wife of  a senior officer only to be yes madam no madammed with. 

 Somehow i get this feeling that i'm going to find my very own Burhar soon.