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The Mango Republic

The Mango Republic

Author: Jo Rushby
Date: 2026-02-25

"If I did tell she hold this gold of sundizzy tonguelicking juicy mouthwater flow ripe with love from the tropics, she woulda tell me trust you to be melodramatic;

So I just say taste this mango and I watch she hold the smooth cheeks of the mango blushing yellow and a glow rush to she own cheeks." (John Agard)

Mangoes. Big, roundy, juicy ones. The hardier longer ones. And the small stringy ones. They are abundant in the land of the Zulu. When I enter Veg Pro in Umgeni Road, the spirits soar. I have long been in awe of this globe of sunshine, juices dripping down my hands, sweetness overflowing into love, into my heart. Durban summers and the mangoes keep on coming. I am like a mad womango, making juices, salads with flecks of red cabbage and sprinkles of fairy walnut dust. Or just eaten sliced, chilled, slithery orange flesh. And this year I experimented with sour mangoes made into a South Indian pickle.

And then the lady at Veg Pro lets me into a secret. Take a green mango, slice it up, throw in a masala and salt mix. Let it soak overnight. A mid-day mango mocktail, sending you twirling and swirling into the late afternoon.

I call the concoction- Supersonic.

Tis but the season of abundance. Colour, light and joy. I send my brother who lives in Wales, pictures of South Coast banana plantations. He holds onto a vague hope that he will grow bananas in the damp, cold valley. Frustrated and with a hint of jealousy, he writes back; 'you are just a Banana Republic'. I thought 'at least we are a Republic; Wales does not even have a rugby team'.

In David Davidar's book, The House of Blue Mangoes, he writes: "At the southern tip of India, come the blue mangoes of chevathar, fruits so sweet that after you've eaten one, you can not taste sugar for three days." Let the juices flow into your hearts, infuse you with love, and 'don't waste sweet words when sweetness in your hands." (John Agard)

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