What is it the consumer, public and each of you miss but not realize?

The offending mango cut up a week later to be eaten, see story on Feb 7th

It is always the TRUTH that is hidden from us. I will illustrate this based on the follow up of the earlier report below that I tagged a about a week ago. I was hit by a falling mango, which I noted, I would keep as a souvenir, to eat when ripe. Well here is the photo for all of you to enjoy. It was ripe exactly one week after it was plucked and I took the photo before I ate it a few minutes ago.

I can’t tell you how sweet it was literally. ’mee pani wage’(like bees honey). What I really want to share with you is this. I had the mangoes plucked when they were mature, and wait till they are ripe before I eat them. I sell them too to my customers, who complain they don’t look as good as the ones in the shop. I must say the mango that ripens on its own does not look as good on the exterior when compared with the ripe mango one is used to buying from the fruit seller. I can assure you it tastes a lot better.

Let me explain, the fruit seller buys the mango that has been plucked in an immature state by the grower or the plucker because it looks clean, and is then bought by the fruit seller, who then sprays it with a carbide that speeds the ripening process, so the buyer buys a nice light yellow hue and it looks nice and they pay over Rs100/- It tastes awful, as a mango plucked when not mature while looking nice on the outside, is sour, as it has not been allowed to mature and ripen on its own unaided.

My mango on the other hand looks average and this time also had a look of being blackened due to excess sun falling on the fruit. When it ripens there is hardly a yellowness to it, and consumers think it is not ripe, as they are used to the carbide yellow!
Even better, my price of Rs50/- is still not enticing enough to these consumers, the very same ones who pay a Rs100/- in the store. It is only when they eat it that the TRUTH be told. This is an example of the trouble I have to teach my well educated, degreed consumers, that even they have been taken for an almighty ride. No wonder we have a problem with the truth. The truth is that a naturally ripened mango does not have to be yellow to be ripe. If yellow it could be too ripe and spoilt.

So it is Valentines and I am spending the day quietly, home alone as they say. I had another run of trouble with my vehicle not starting, which resulted in a half day wasted as the vehicle reversed down a slope in an effort at reverse starting and broke the left side mirror! Once the battery was recharged and the alternator that was not charging repaired, the engine caught fire last evening while I was driving. I had a narrow shave as I was out in the wilds in the dark when it short-circuited and was able to limp back safely. This morning as the vehicle was just not pulling something that has been gradually getting worse, I had to be at a workshop while the fuel injectors were removed and cleaned, hoping that would help. It has a little, so I will probably be able to climb up the hill of one of my regular customers homes. It still is not up to the pulling power I would like, and the next stage will be to check over the injector pump to see if there is something that can be done to boost the power there. My whole enterprise depends on my being able to use my only vehicle everyday and I have to attend to all the repairs myself, as I don’t have a chauffeur to take the responsibility for its maintenance. It was a tough week.