In this week’s missive I want to tell you a few anecdotes about fruit. So to start us off here is a little Tamil related introduction. In Tamil the word for fruit is Parlam, with the “rl” sound made by touching the tip of your tongue at the back of your hard palate and letting it roll forward. As a previous strict Anglophone this is not an entirely easy noise for me to create. I must admit that I have developed a strange habit recently, when I see something that I know the Tamil word for I tend to rehearse it to myself in a repetitive fashion. This is why if you were to walk next to me on the street as I passed one of the numerous fruit stalls in town you would hear me muttering “Parlam, parlam, parlam, parlam”. This is one of the many reasons people look at me funny.
During one of my mobile clinic visits about ten days ago we went through a village inside the nature reserve. We did our usual thing of weighing the babies to check for malnutrition and consulting with the patients who have chronic disease to stock up their medications. As we walked past one tree I noticed some large green fruits, they looked like citrus fruit but I was unsure of what variety. I asked one of the community health workers with us what the name of the fruit was. She didn’t know the English name for the fruit but promptly enlisted one of the local tribal men to climb the tree and retrieve one of the fruit for me to eat. I tried to explain that this really would not be necessary but by then he was already clambering along one of the higher branches. With the man and the fruit both safely back on solid ground I cut through the waxy skin to discover that it was in fact a grapefruit, not quite ripe but very tasty and refreshing on a hot day. This was one of the many times that I have been grateful to have my Swiss army knife with me. It came in very handy carving the fruit into segments to share with everyone.
This could have been the end of the story but a few days ago we went to a different village, deep inside a tea plantation. Just to the left of the village temple was a large and majestic tree with some familiar looking fruit on it. The same health worker was with us and she immediately decided that I obviously was in desperate need of grapefruit. She called for a young boy in one of the houses and before I could say anything I heard her say quite distinctly in Tamil that the English doctor wanted some of the fruit. I tried to say that really I was fine, the tree was very tall and the boy was quite small and I really didn’t want to have to explain to any family members how their child broke a limb fetching me fruit! But in the blink of an eye the boy was up the tree and three soft thuds announced the arrival of some very tasty looking pink grapefruits. In exchange for his skilful climbing the little boy got to keep one of the fruits (it was roughly the size of his head). My Swiss army knife was pressed into action again dividing one of the fruits between those of us working and the third fruit was sent home with one of the health workers for her family. All in all a good outcome with no fractured bones!
In addition to fruit that is recognisable from English supermarket aisles (apples, bananas, citrus fruit and now the first fruits of the mango season) I have come across some entirely new fruits here in India. One which seems freely available at the moment is Chikku. This soft, round, brown fruit has a rough exterior something like sandpaper. The flesh inside is grainy with a texture not unlike a ripe pear and a taste which is sweet and very rich. There are four seeds which look like large apple pips. I really like the Chikku fruit, which is good because if the cheap price in the market is anything to go by I am fairly sure that it is both local and in season.
Another Indian fruit which is new to me is the Nungu. I was introduced to this fruit while on a field visit to a tribal village. The jeep stopped by the side of the road where a man was stood surrounded by cannonball sized dark fruit. The tribal health workers were thrilled to see it and I get the impression that this is a fruit less readily available on the local stalls. The fruit seller took his large curved knife and hacked into the thick husk separating three jelly like segments. He repeated this a few times, each time with me trying not to wince too badly as the sharp blade came down right next to his unprotected fingers! Soon we had a bag full of the fruit segments to taste. It is very difficult to adequately describe the taste and texture of Nungu. I would say the outside of the segment has a texture a bit like lychee but with a much more delicate flavour. In the middle of each segment there is a pool of liquid which is very refreshing and tastes a little like the water from a tender coconut, not surprising as I have been told the fruit is a relative of the coconut itself. I will post a picture of the fruit seller on the roadside when I get a minute.
Pictures as promised.
Wow this is a very long post about fruit, perhaps I should make more of an effort to write about my work in the hospital next time? Just to reassure you I am still working and learning new things every day about medicine in rural communities and tropical climates. I am getting plenty of experience in the outpatients department, working in the field and in the last week I have been spending more time in the Labour ward which I am enjoying a lot.
Again I want to thank people for keeping me updated with goings on it the UK. Six weeks in and I must admit I am getting homesick. Lots of love to all and hopefully catch up soon.
A x
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