Tamarind trees line many interior roads in Tamil Nadu
Like the name, India, it was with some surprise that I learnt
that the common south Indian fruit, tamarind, has a Persian etymology. The
Persians gave the fruit the melodious name of Tamar-i-hind or the “date of
India”, which was subsequently Anglicized to tamarind.
It was even more of a surprise to learn that the tamarind
tree (Tamarindus Indica), a
leguminous tree in the family Fabaceae,
despite its deceptive name, originates from Africa. A tropical evergreen, it
has been cultivated in India for so long that most consider it to be indigenous
to India. Before the onslaught of globalization that gave us modern highways –
those blazing rivers of monochrome asphalt criss-crossing the country – our
cities were linked by a single-lane avenue, often lined on both sides by
tamarind trees, which were dutifully branded and numbered by the government.
Tamarind trees were specifically chosen for their huge canopy so that they...
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