Finding a fruit and veggie seller who can give you fresh produce through the year at rates that are competitive with the those at the city mandais is no easy task.But if you know where to go, you could get fresh-off-the-tree fruit or vegetables still smelling of the Earth for prices that make sense.As the summer heat bakes the streets, the one comfort that Puneites have is that the conditions are right for the mango season. And right now, the counter of the little fruit stall by the MSFC gate is groaning with the weight of some eight different types of mangoes - Lalbaug, Badam, Keshar, Ratna, Mallika, Devgad Hapoos, Ratnagiri Hapoos and Ratnagiri Payri. There are the more `watery' fruits as well - water melon, musk melon and grapes and then there are the firm chikoos.The shop is run by two brothers - Prabhakar and Raghunath Bade who used to sell the produce of the MSFC farms at Walchandnagar at the local market. In 1996, the brothers shifted to Pune and since then, says Raghunath, ``The shop has been open since then every day from 8.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. It used to run even before we came but it was normally open during the mango season only.''The fruits are all local and Raghunath guarantees that the price is much lower than anywhere else in the city. `` We sell a peti of mangoes nearly 30 per cent cheaper then outside,'' he says. The fruit for this store comes from the MSFC farms at Walchandnagar, Sakharwadi, Sripur, Gangapur, Sadashivnagar. The shop is obviously popular as a steady stream of customers pick their way through the mangoes. ``We sell 50 petis of mangoes every day and if any of the mangoes are bad, we take it back,'' he says.Their shop has generated employment on a very tiny scale as well. Two elderly women come in every day and sort through each peti. Spoilt mangoes are set aside and the firm ones are put back to be sold. The soft ones, the women carry off to sell in their area and manage to earn a little through the season.At the Agricultural College, the bais are still bringing in the produce that stocks the fruit and vegetable stall at 11 a.m. The mangoes are still not in season but the the vegetables - tomatoes, brinjal, bottle gourd (dudhi) and ridge gourd (dodka) are very much in evidence. Groundnuts are another item on sale. Explains agricultural assistant Sanjay Lonkar, ``All these vegetables are from the College itself and are grown on the premises.'' This means that only seasonal fruits and vegetables will be available here at Market Yard prices - cheap and convenient for anyone staying this side of town. Seasonal produce - it is as healthy (and economical!) a way as any to pass through the seasons.
