Lalitha, the most dreaded woman south of the Tropic of Cancer was capable of chasing the fruit vendor down the street if daughter-in-law, Manpreet even uttered the ‘M’ word! ‘M’ for Mango. Manpreet is nine weeks pregnant and craving for mangoes but she wonders ‘Is it safe to eat mangoes during pregnancy?’

To which her mother-in-law, Lalitha responds with a loud ‘NO’ more fearsome than the battle cry from the Battle of Panipat.

This has led to a tussle between the two ladies and hence, ‘M’ for Mangoes' has become a more dreaded alphabet than ‘M’ for 'Mother-in-law.'

‘She’s a sweet, lady, Malini,’ Manpreet groaned over the phone, complaining to her buddy, ‘but she is very fixed in her notions.’

‘No, no, no,  Manu, that’s a MYTH. Mangoes are absolutely safe. In fact, they are loaded with iron, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B6, potassium and folic acid. A pregnant woman needs these.’

‘How do I make her understand?’

‘Tell Srini to talk to her.’

‘Srini will get pelted with rotten fruit if he dares to confront her.’

Both women laughed.

‘Why don’t you smuggle some mangoes to you room and eat when everyone is asleep?’

‘Malini, you always go us into trouble in school also. And, here you go again!’

‘Come on – make her understand the qualities: the natural sugars in mango are so satisfying: they keep you away from the harmful cakes and pastries.’

‘Aaaaah, I want a MANGO NOW. Like this very moment!’

‘And, they ease constipation, too.’

‘What are you – a mango advertiser? Ha ha!’

‘You know I like to read up on foods.’

Sanju wailed in the background, as if she was joining in this ‘Don’t-Give-Mangoes-a-Bad-Name’ campaign. 

‘Hey, I have to go, time for Sanju’s feed. You try to reason with mummy-ji, okay?’ Malini hung up.

Manpreet felt confident after this chat with Malini. She decided to ask join the AMA (Ask-Me-Anything) session being offered by iMumz to double-check on what Malini had said. It was a great relief when the doctor confirmed that mangoes are good, and definitely do not pose any kind of risk. The doctor, cautioned about just one thing: to watch out for if the mango has ripened naturally or has been artificially ripened using chemicals.

That’s a skill that women can master quickly – just like they have mastered the art of identifying which celebrity’s lips are naturally plump and which are silicon- pumped.

To know if the mango is safe to consume, ask:

• Do they look bright and yellow on the outside but are raw and hard inside?
• Do they have a grey or black powder-like coating?
• Is there a garlic-like odour?
• Do they leave a strange after-taste?
• Are they quickly developing black patches and over-ripening soon?

And, under no circumstances should a pregnant lady consume mangoes without washing and peeling.

Manpreet felt ‘C’ for ‘Confident' after these inputs and while craving for ‘C’ for ‘Chausa’, she decided to ‘C’ for ‘Confront’ her mother-in-law.

To cut a long story short, both Lalitha and Manpreet are now elbow-deep in a bucketful of mangoes. The matter has been settled ‘aam-icably’, one can say.