Bitter future

Concretisation, climate change and new pests are killing Dehradun's famous litchis

- PUJA AWASTHI

We grasp at childhood memories. "There was such sweetness. You could go without sugar for the whole day. The litchis had such juicy pulp that one bite and there would be sticky streaks all over our mouths. Now there is just bitterness," said Deepak Rawat, a 38-year-old taxi driver. We were talking about the litchis that Dehradun was so famous for, till around two decades ago. When the water sources dried, the canals were choked, the water table plunged and the city got blanketed by concrete, the litchis were lost. Well, almost. And so was that promise of a sweet summer.

Now we drive 20km out of the city, but those dense orchards, heavy with fruit, are nowhere to be seen. At wholesale markets, sellers say it is useless to look for the native rose-scented litchis. Instead, there is the Shahi litchi from Muzaffarpur (Bihar), the Kalcuttia (from Calcutta) and the later blooming seedless varieties (mostly from Punjab and Uttar Pradesh). But that heart shaped one-the fragrance of which was as enticing as its taste-is a rarity.

This much-loved fruit is not native to India. It travelled from China, through Myanmar, in the 17th or 18th century. It grows best in deep, well drained loamy soil that is rich in organic matter. It contains an abundance of vitamins B and C, proteins and calcium, among other essential nutrients.