The Land of Green Gold

Kuchh Allahabad mein saman nhi bah-bud ke

Yaan dhara kya hai ba-juz akbar ke aur amrud ke

These are some very famous lines of the Urdu poet Akbar Allahabadi and as one can make out, here we are going to talk about the very famous allahabadi amrood (guavas).

Allahabad has long been known as “the city of sangam” and “the city of green gold” ; guavas rich in pectin, vitamin a, c, folic acid and various other nutrients are also known as the poor man’s apple. Beautiful and vibrant in colour and deliciously sweet guavas are the pride of Allahabad.

India is a country of diverse cultures, states, lives and people yet the country stands unified with each aspect coming together like sugar in milk. Each city and state has its own specialty and that is how we identify with them since our childhood, be it Allahabad ke amrood (guavas 

from Allahabad), Nagpur ke santre (oranges from Nagpur), 

bambai ke hapus(alphanso from Mumbai). Although with technological advancements such area wise distinctions in crops are not popular anymore since everything can literally be found everywhere.

But that is not true in the case of allahabadi amrood (guavas) it has withstood the test of times and still maintains its unique identity something which cannot be found elsewhere, this apple of the tropics comes in different 

varieties, Allahabadi safeda, sangam, lalit and surkha are the most famous ones, safeda is yellowish, white, round, soft skinned, with firm flesh, pleasantly flavoured and 

famous all over India.
But surkha is the real king with the winters setting in it gains the most luscious shade of pink either dotting the whole fruit or completely coloring it. With a sweet striking flavor, and very less seeds, one cannot cross the streets without lustfully eyeing this delicacy of nature. Although 

this variety has very limited shelf life. During the peaks eason the streets are filled with vendors on their roadside stalls , displaying the beautiful fruit, they do not have to do much, since the flavor attracts the crowd from far far away, a visit to Allahabad can never be successful till you do not eat this fruit.

Although this fruit is not native to India, It has successfully made its way all over India as well foreign countries like the Middle East and Pakistan, Guavas now live in the heart of every Indian as the very famous allahabadi amrood.