This mango oasis stands tall in concrete jungle

Rajkot: While Junagadh rules the world of mangoes with its kesar variety, there is a huge orchard with more than 500 mango trees in Navagam, in the outskirts of Rajkot, which has been quietly tickling mango lovers’ palates with its own Kesar mangoes, more popularly called Kesubhai’s mangoes.
The fruit earned its moniker after the eye surgeon, who was gifted the plot of land by the erstwhile ruler of Rajkot.
Keshubhai used to sell mangoes from his orchard only at his hospital premises on Karansinhji road of Rajkot.This tradition was picked up and continued by his grandson, an eye surgeon too, of selling the fruit at the hospital on no-profit no-loss basis.
Recalling the tradition set by his grandfather, Dr Ajay Mehta said: “My grandfather set up an operation theater in the palace to perform cataract operation on Rajmata, the mother of then ruler of Rajkot, Lakhajirajsinhji. He also refused to accept payment for his medical services. However, a few years later when he saw a mango orchard in Junagadh, my grandfather expressed his desire to create his own orchard in Rajkot someday. Hearing this, Maharaj Lakhajirajsinhji asked his Diwan to gift this parcel of land to my grandfather.”
The land was rocky and Keshubhai had to put in hard labour for quite many years to make it fertile for mango farming. He brought Kesar mango seedlings from Junagadh and sowed these in his orchard. Even today, 50-odd trees still stand tall bearing testimony to the eye surgeon’s efforts.
Dr Mehta who continues to run the hospital with his wife Dr Tejal at the same place maintained that the tradition set by his grandfather of selling mangoes at no-profit no-loss at the same hospital will go on.
“We don’t use any chemical in our orchard which is totally organic farming,” said Dr Mehta, adding that the farm yields nearly 50 tonne mangoes every season.
Another grandson, Sanjay Mehta, who runs a travel agency, said, “Rajkot is expanding its limits to Navagam and is being commercially developed. However, we will continue to nurture our ‘mango oasis’ even amid the concrete jungle of rapid urbanization.”
Mandhatasinhji, the present ruler of Rajkot, said, “The whole terrain was rocky which needed extra effort to grow something as delicate as mangoes. Keshubhai’s hard work s bore fruit which the people of Rajkot have, for the past so many decades, been enjoying. This gift given by Lakhajiraj Bapu is historical.”