When I got Lemons…

The Lemon Tree

Our modest garden - with a small lawn, roses, hibiscus, jasmine, night-queen, madhukamini, and a few Brahmakamal plants in pots - has no space for large trees. Years ago, we had planted a lemon sapling about six inches tall on the sliver of land between the southern boundary wall and the paved corridor providing access to the maid to the washing area at the back of the kitchen.

The lemon tree languished there like an orphan while the rose-bushes bordering the manicured lawn enjoyed royal treatment with generous feed of rose mixture, neem-khali, and mindful watering. It was good that it never got to watch how Ma’am fussed over her roses and took great pride in the beautiful flowers that bloomed in season.

Yet, it grew and grew by sheer force of will, it seems, and three years ago surprised us with a modest yield of a few fruits – small but juicy. Fed with vermicompost and watered twice a week; this year’s crop is bountiful, and the size of lemons is impressive. At last, you took notice and looked after me; and see what I’m capable of. Have your roses gladdened the hearts of your neighbours as I’ve pleased their palate, it asked us?

Thanks, Dear Lemon Tree, for your luxuriant produce. Sorry for the years of neglect. I had never nurtured a lemon tree, busy as I was slogging at my work. No idea, though, if my endeavours over those long years yielded much fruit. 

(Our Lemon Tree: Eureka cultivar)

(Lemon Tree's Morning Gift) 

Your zest amazes me. How did you dig into the rocky terrain and manage to grow on such a thin strip of land? How much taller would you grow? What variety are you - Thar Vaibhav, Lucknow seedless, Eureka, Lisbon, Genoa? I shared a pic of the fruit with Google and asked. It smartly noticed the tiny nipple-tip bump on the yellow fruit and determined that you are a Eureka cultivar.

With an average life span of fifty years, you’d easily outlive us. We hope our successors would look after you well, and you would continue to shower your gifts on them.

Nimbu-Mirchi Totka

We don’t hang a totka-garland at our entrance door. With our sturdy lemon tree standing as a sentinel with glowing lemons studded like medallions on its wide chest, what evil eye dare look at our home?

Make Lemonade?

You have heard the quote - “If Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade.” What do you think of it? A bit preachy and patronising, no? Maybe, the unsolicited advice was given by one who never made lemonade for self or for sale. The positivity quote was popularised by Dale Carnegie in How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, who attributed it to Jules Renard, though Elbert Hubbard, a writer, first used it in 1915.

Let the Americans make lemonade, but what should we do? Make nimbu ka achaar, since our production of nimbu far exceeds our consumption of the fresh fruit for sikanji, serbet, nimbu-rice, marinating, seasoning, or just a slice of lemon served with lunch or dinner. India is the world’s largest producer of lemon. The tree is native to North-east India and Myanmar.

To practise what I preach, I made nimbu ka meetha achaar following Nish Madhulika’s easy-to-do recipe on You Tube. My third tryst at making pickles after previous limited editions of tasty tamarind and moringa achaar!

(Nimbu ka meetha achaar by Blogger-Master Chef)

Sanjukta tasted it. Good, but too much of ajwain, she said. I had goofed up. Nisha’s recipe was for half a kilo of lemons, I had taken about 200 grams, but had used as much spice as she had recommended!

Why don’t we have a weighing scale in out kitchen? How is a talented chef to achieve excellence without scientific measurement? I fumed.

We had a scale, but that was long ago. My dishes taste fine without measurement, she said.

When Life Gives You Tangerines…

That’s a South Korean TV serial (Genre: Romance, Slice of Life, Drama) on Netflix. We have watched two episodes. It’s about the life and struggle of Ae-Sun – a poor but feisty girl from a little fishing island determined to move to Mainland and make good in life.

Mandarins, oranges, and tangerines are considered lucky fruits in China and South-east Asia.

But why is lemon looked down upon, scorned, and pitied in America? Why don’t they counsel: If you got pumpkins, make pumpkin-pie; if you got cotton, spin yarns and tie suffocating knots on global trade; if you got sugar, sell colas and sugared-drinks to make the world obese; if you got corn, flood the world with cornflakes spiked with sugar?

Nimbooda, Nimbooda, Nimbooda…

You may have watched the Bollywood film Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Remember Aishwarya Rai’s voluptuous dance to the Nimbooda, Nimbooda song? I wondered why the dancer was so excited about ordinary lemons till I read that the song’s lyrics involve word play with sexual connotations, easily understood by adults in Rajasthan. That’s why the suggestive song is so popular in marriage celebrations.

Recently, I played (from You Tube) Gazi Singh Manganiar’s rendering of this popular Rajasthani folk song in Raag Bhairavi! A columnist rues that Aishwarya is remembered for this hit song while few know about Gazi Singh’s exquisite rendering.

Lemon: Medicinal properties

Since ages, lemon has been used in India for common remedies. Ayurveda uses lemon to treat migraine, dyspepsia, sore throat, bleeding gums, mouth odour, and several other ailments.

Limey

The British learned of lemon’s life-saving capability only in 1747 when James Lind, a Scottish naval surgeon discovered that scurvy which killed thousands of seamen is cured by citrus fruits – rich in vitamin C. Thereafter, Captains mandated the daily tipple ration for seamen to be spiked with lime. That simple measure saved lives; but got the British seamen, and later all Britishers, the sobriquet of Limey!

Nimbu Cleansing

Nimbu is not merely edible, it infused nimbu ki tazgi for a fragrant bath with Liril – the soap marketed with the iconic ad by Alyque Padamsee. Remember the youthful girl cavorting under a waterfall at Kodaikanal for her solitary, joyful bath, and the catchy jingle “La La Liril, La La Liril”? She was Karen Lunel, an air hostess who became famous as a model with that single ad. Later, Preity Zinta, and Deepika Padukone became Liril Girls.

After Liril came nimbu ki mahashakti - nimbu detergent bars and nimbu-infused liquid detergents. Citric acid efficiently removes oil and grime.

Nimbuka, Lisbon, Genoa

Nimbuka is the Sanskrit name for lemon. This plant from India has travelled the world, adapted to local climate, and birthed famous cultivars – Eureka in Mexico and California, Lisbon in Portugal, and Genoa in Italy. After global travel, it has returned to the country of its birth and happily rubs shoulders with the unpretentious desi relatives. Assam is proud of the unique aroma of its State Fruit Nemu Tenga (kazi nemu and gul nemu, too), Bengal goes gaga over Gondhraj.

An Ode to Lemon

Lemon, Lemon, Lemon!

Slayer of scurvy demon,

Nature’s little bundle of nectar,

From India you’ve travelled far;

Provider of daily dose of Vit C,

Thirst-buster, body-cleanser, utensil-shiner,

Your juice pure,

For several ailments

A guaranteed cure.

Accept my humble offering -

Water twice a week,

A helping of vermicompost, and

My sincere gratitude;

Shower your blessings on us,

Lemon, O Lemon,

Slayer of scurvy demon.

May your roots dig deep,

Branches stay strong,

Fruits bountiful,

O democratic saviour,

Thirst-buster of all – rich and poor.

***

 Postscript

Gautam Bhattacharya

Sharing a Lemon Tree song of our Ranchi childhood which used to be sung by a classmate, Soumitra. He used to have a great voice and was famous for his rendition of English songs.

Although we have never met after 1969, thanks to various social media platforms we are now in touch with each other but our get-together still eludes us.

"Lemon Tree" was inspired by a 1930 Brazilian song called "Meu limão meu limoeiro". It was written by Will Holt in the late 1950s.

A hit song of Peter, Paul and Mary, album produced & sung in 1960.

https://youtu.be/O54UrX4YF9k?si=NkIeI2pNwwBj4Bej

Me: Thanks, Gautam, for sharing this lovely song. I hadn't heard it before.

Aruna

Wow, such an encompassing lemon puran.

Anjuly

As refreshing as a freshly made shikanji.

G Subbu

A "dash" of squeezed lemon,

Served with ice, salt and sugar,  eases every tension,

The humble juice, which is citric,

Ironically, removes grime because it is acidic,

But what Prasanna loves, is its connection with Karen !!

😂

Ashok Noronha

Ashok: Read your blog. Interesting foray into achaar making. Would you like some karondas - fresh from my farm?

Me: We have never bought karonda. Isn't it very sour?

A: Yes, it is. But with lots of hot chilli, it makes a tangy curry. Maybe, you can make kalounji.

Me: What's kalounji?

A: A pickle with jaggery. Mango kalounji is popular, and karonda kalounji is sour and sweet. Btw, the plum on the run-of-the-mill cakes is usually a sweetened karonda. Come in a day or two and pick up some before it gets stale.

Note: Karonda is Bengal currant or Carandas plum. It is sometimes referred to as Christ's thorn or Black currant.