In the midst of Junagadh, Gujarat, lies an orchard that is the dream of every mango lover.
Spread across 12.5 acres in Bhalchhel village are thousands of mango trees bearing more than 200 varieties of the fruit from across the country.
This ‘museum’ is the brainchild of Noor Ali Veera Jhariya, who purchased a 10-acre land in the village in 1985 to develop a mango orchard.
He started growing Kesari mangoes and by 1990, started selling almost 10,000 saplings a year. He was also passionate and curious about other mango varieties.
In 1996, he sourced 14 mango varieties from across the country and grew them in the orchard, meticulously maintained by the Jhariya family.
His son, Samshuddin, too traveled across the country, spoke to experts and visited agriculture universities.
Today, the Jhariya family has 230 varieties of mangoes grown in their orchard, some of which include Chinna Rasam and Chandrama from South India, and Chaunsa, Langda and Daseri from the North.
They also have dwarf mangoes and a seedless variety known as Sindhu-117. There are also other varieties which are native to the USA, Thailand, Australia, Europe and Israel.
The farm also has fruit varieties such as Katimon, Bajrang Baramasi, Baramasi Valsad and others that deliver mangoes every three months.
Sumeet Jhariya, Noor’s grandson, claims that all the mangoes are grown using drip irrigation to save water and organic farming methods.
“Unlike the conventional plantation, which has a gap of about 30-40 feet between two trees, our mango trees are grown using a high-density plantation technique with a gap of 10-25 feet. The method allows us to grow four times the trees compared to traditional methods,” he adds.
The family has also opened its doors for visitors to experience living in the mango orchard. Anil Farm House, an eco-tourism entity, hosts guests throughout the year.
The family also sells about 2 lakh mango saplings a year by the name Anil Mango Farms and Nursery.