On a quiet June morning in Vechale village in Maharashtra, as the wind rustles through rows of mango trees, one branch stands out—curved gently under the weight of a fruit almost forgotten. It’s not the famed Alphonso or the juicy Kesar.

It’s rarer, older, and named after a man who helped shape Mumbai centuries ago. This is the story of the Cawasji Patel mango, and the farmer who’s trying to bring it back.

At the Deshmukh family’s farm, stands a raiwal mango tree unlike any other. This indigenous sentinel bears grafts of five distinct mango varieties—a living mosaic of flavour and legacy. But this graft, in particular, tells a tale that reaches far beyond the orchard.

This mango tree, growing quietly in a rural farm, connects to the busy Cawasji Patel Street in Fort and the old CP Tank—both named after a man who helped build the city of Mumbai.

The tank, once located near Girgaon, between Grant Road and Marine Lines, was an old water reservoir that supplied drinking water to South Mumbai many years ago.

Cawasji Patel funded the construction of the water tank to address the city’s drinking water shortages, leading to the area being named after him. The tank, now defunct, is historically important as part of Mumbai’s early water infrastructure.

Patel’s legacy is tied to public infrastructure philanthropy. The Gazetteer of Bombay City and Island (1909) notes Patel’s contribution to the water project.

Back then, as Bombay grew, a mango was named after him—a tribute from a city that remembered its patrons in sweet, lasting ways.

Grown in Patel’s orchards in the neighbourhood of Powai Lake, it later spread to orchards springing up in Thane and Pune. The Powai estate had one lakh mango trees spread over 1334 acres.

The mango growing here was popular among the British as the “Bombay Mango”. In 1833-34, it was more expensive than Ratnagiri’s mango. On May 18, 1838, a basket of this famous Bombay Mango was sent to Queen Victoria of England.

Green fruit with white pulp: What made this mago unique

The fruit was typically harvested green with white pulp, making it unique among mangoes. It was fibreless, which made it an excellent choice for cooking, especially for........

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