A mouthful of Malgova beckons at Mango fest

CHENNAI: The Great Mango Festival’, a festival that aims to unite mango lovers and organically produced mangoes, is organised by Exoticamp in association with Hanu Reddy Farms. The third edition of the festival is taking place in Othivakkam on June 11, 12 and June 18, 19.

Talking to DT Next about the inception of the festival, Nirupama Reddy, COO of Hanu Reddy Realty says, “My brother-in-law, Hanu Reddy, mused as to how wine-tasting and fruit picking in the West is a tourist attraction and how India lacked something more culturally-driven. Around the same time, Varadah happened. Several trees in our farm were uprooted because of the cyclone.

“We did not want the wood to go to waste, and so my brother-in-law decided to make a 156 ft table in our mango farm. After some time, we decided to take forward our idea and came up with mango tourism.”

Swaminathan Subramanian, co-founder of Exoticamp, says, “Farm experiences with curated activities like mango-plucking, bullock cart ride, pump bath, a breakfast spread with mango infused delicacies among others is part of the camping experience. Attendees can also camp at the farm for a night and take part in our stargazing session. This initiative is culturally-driven and helps the farmers as well.”

The festival, which is a ticketed event, is priced at Rs 1,500 for adults and Rs 1,200 for children. Tickets are available on hanureddymangotourism.com.

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