A vet's life savings built a home for Karnataka's rare mangoes
A veterinary surgeon in Karnataka spent his life savings to build a 600-tree gene bank preserving wild mango varieties that were quietly disappearing from the region.
Along the coast of Karnataka, a wild mango called naada mavu once grew freely, fruiting at the start of the monsoon in June, weeks before commercial varieties like Alphonso or Raspuri. As farmers turned to more profitable standardized crops, many local varieties, each with its own name and story, began to fade into obscurity.
Dr. P. Manohara Upadhya, a veterinary surgeon by profession, decided to do something about it. Using his own life savings, he built Maavu Mantapa, a 600-tree living gene bank spread across a 5.4-acre plot in Kukkila, dedicated to keeping the region's wild mango diversity alive.
He isn't working alone. Farmer Mapalathota Subraya Bhat has preserved 80 wild varieties on his land near Sullia, while Sameer Patil planted 500 Appemidi mango trees in Lakkalakatti village eight years ago. Altogether, this loose network of farmers, nurseries and researchers has helped raise some 50,000 saplings.
Each tree in the network carries a name that only the oldest generation of farmers still remembers, a small act of memory that is quietly keeping a disappearing landscape, and its flavors, alive for whoever comes next.
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