Cover image made using photo by HOTCHICKSING on Unsplash.

Nina: Nana, look what I am eating.

Nana: I see you’re making a sorry mess. Good heavens, how many mangoes do you have there? That’s way too many. They’ll give you a tummy ache. Let me help you.

Nina: Oh no, Nana. I don’t need help.

Nana: Nonsense, of course, you do. Wait a minute. What variety are these? Are they all different?

Nina: Yes, Nana. This is my favorite, Alphonso the pride of Ratnagiri, and this one is a Dasheri, an Uttar Pradesh specialty, and this super sweet one with almost no fiber is called Himsagar and it hails from West Bengal.

Nana: And this one is my favorite, the Langra. Yummy. It comes from Banaras and Bihar.

Nina: Langra is your favorite? That’s lame. Alphonso is so much better. Teehee.

Nana: Enough with your insulting puns young lady. So why are you eating all these varieties, if Alphonso is your favorite? Just stick to it, and leave all these other delights for me.

Nina: I am eating these for research.

Nana: That’s always your excuse. Whatever happened to the good old fashioned the dog ate my mango excuse?

Nina: It’s old Nana, just like you.

Nana: Rude, cheeky brat. What’s this so called research about?

Nina: I read about a man, who grows all these varieties of mango, and about 296 more, on a single tree.

Nana: What???

Nina: Yes, Nana. He saw plants of grafted roses with different color flowers on them and decided to try grafting different mangoes varieties onto a tree. Over time, he has cultivated this one tree that produces 300 different types of mangoes.

Nana: Wow! Imagine being able to eat all these varieties sitting under a single tree.

Nina: A shady business, if you ask me.

Nana: Enough with the puns! Now, go man go! I need some peace and quite.

Nina: And he complains about my puns. Hmph!

This post is a part of the #NinaAndNana series I co-host with Lavanya Srinivasan. Her posts can be found here.