Guava trail
If you have travelled on a train between Delhi to any place in North-Eastern India, you may have had the famous Ilāhābadī amrūds at Allahabad (Prayāgrāj). In fact, the sweet smell of guavas often helped me guess that our train has arrived at the Allahabad junction.
If you have travelled on a train between Delhi to any place in North-Eastern India, you may have had the famous Ilāhābadī amrūds at Allahabad (Prayāgrāj). In fact, the sweet smell of guavas often helped me guess that our train has arrived at the Allahabad junction.
"Amrūd" अमरूद is a common Hindi /Urdu word for a tropical fruit Guava, having its origin in Central America. It was introduced to the East Indies (SE Asia) by the Spanish during the early 16th century, and Portuguese brought it eventually from there to India & rest of Asia.
No wonder, in Bengali and other languages, it is known by words of Portuguese origin e.g. "Peyara". Chronicles of Mughal emperor Akbar mention the word amrūd अमरूद in the inventory of fruits in imperial kitchens (1590).
But it isn't sure that this amrūd was the Portuguese import of Guava or a kind of pear from India. Amrūd is a Persian origin word for a kind of pear, & which is related to Middle Persian urmōd / *Umrūta which is perhaps related to Sanskrit Amṛtaphala अमृतफल (pear).
The successful adoption of various subtropical American fruits such as Guava, Papaya, Cashew etc. in India may have been due to the personal interest of the Mughal emperors in horticulture. During medieval times, guavas were also known as safarī ām सफ़री आम (= 'journey mango').
Interested in varieties of Pear available in the Indian subcontinent? Here is something fun
What is the word for a Guava and a Pear in your languages/s?
