Oranging of Oranges

Week 45	November 3, 2014	November 9, 2014

1.     Preamble:

In reference to the blog of previous week, we returned from Lahoe on Tuesday. We travelled some 900 Kms on the motorway both ways. The midway point is Bheira, where from going towards Lahore the citrus region of Sargodha starts and continues up until Sheikhupura, which is the rice growing region. We noticed the oranges (Kino) were all green and completely indistinguishable on 'all green' appearing trees. When we returned only 3 days later, they all were yellowing and very well identifiable. The story was identically the same at our farm where the 'Fruiter' citrus trees were presenting an altogether different look, with the yellow/orange fruit showing all over. The fruit on other kind of orange trees too were yellowing but the mandarin 'Early Fruiter' being always the first was visibly in the lead. Oranges come in different hues of red, yellow and orange. Here, we might mention, the orange was not named for the color but rather the color was named after the fruit. The word "orange" was a Western explorers mispronunciation of the old Tamil word for the fruit (aru-anju). Brought back to Europe, the fruit was called "orange" and anything with the same shade/hue was then referred to as having an "orange" color. 

Coincident with oranging of oranges, the wheat sowing season too has commenced around our farm in Khyber Pakhtun Khwa (KPK). The plots have been cleaned, tilled and seeds thrown. The rains of a couple of days earlier have made it appear logical and perfect. Coincident with the harvesting of wheat in late April, it would be the time for pulling of garlic as well, which was sown almost six weeks ago on our own plot.

Starting this week, we will return to the oranges, about which we have already talked only four weeks earlier in the blog of the week: 41 (October 6-12, 2014). The first of these will understandably be none other than the Mandarin Fruiters.

2.     The Early Mandarin Fruiter:

As stated, the Mandarin Fruiters have been mentioned in this blog before. "It is a group name for a class of oranges with thin, loose peel, which have been dubbed "kid-glove" oranges. The name "tangerine" could be applied as an alternate name to the whole group, but, in the trade, is usually confined to the types with red-orange skin". This is how mandarins are described so adequately on the Purdue University Web page. For further reading, the page can be accessed at:

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/mandarin_orange.html

Here, we will suffice by showing only pictures of on the tree mandarins in our own farmhouse. These are far more expressive than any detailed article, from whatever reputable source may it be.

3.     The Initiation of Tandoor (Clay Cylindrical Oven):

Those who read this blog regularly, know how embarrassingly easily I move from one subject to other.  Ashamedly, this is the only way I can make good use of the limited space, available for this blog. We had already introduced (Week: 41, October 20-26, 2014) the "Outdoor Tandoor', the latest addition in our farmhouse. Our trip to Lahore of the last week delayed its inauguration. During the ongoing current week, we have put it to use however. Here are some pictures, which sum it up.

Among the preparations were the Garlic Naan. The Chicken Tikkas seen in one of the pictures were however baked on the adjacent 'Barbecue Stand'.

4.     My/Our Treasure Trove:

During our recent sojourn to Lahore, I/we collected following books. This treasure trove will hopefully keep me fully occupied for many weeks. Two of the books are in English. One on the subcontinent history and the other, a travelogue:

Two other books that I acquired are in Urdu. One of them is a novel, which has earned a French literary award and the other describing events and personalities, written by none other them Mustaq Ahmad Yusufi, a writer of considerable repute.

I plan to read these books in the coming weeks extending possibly into a couple of months. As I finish reading them, I would love to review them in this blog and share with all our well wishers. Here, I will briefly talk only about the first book: 'The Age of Wrath'. It is a an Indian history book, which describes the 300 years of Delhi Sultanate in the period between 1206 - 1526. The era starts with the rule of Sultan Qutub-ud-Din Aibak whose mausoleum is right in the centre of Lahore, which unfortunately I did not know about but would need to go to along with the much desired, Masjid Wazir Khan, hopefully not too distant in future.

Till the next week, it is wishing you Godspeed, as always.