The seventh edition of the Gitanjali Mango Festival began at the City Centre in Siliguri on Friday.

The three-day-long fest has been organised by Modella Caretaker Centre, in collaboration with the Association for Conservation and Tourism (ACT).

“Summer means the season of mangoes and it is rare to find a person who does not love the fruit. It is natural to have a fest for the national fruit of our country and hence, the event has been planned,” said Raj Basu, the convener of the ACT.

He said the fest couldn’t be held in the past couple of years because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We have participants from different parts of Bengal, other states and even the neighbouring countries of Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh,” added Basu.

Altogether, 270 varieties of mangoes have been displayed at the festival.

“The special attraction of this year’s fests is the Kohitur variety. Nawab Murshid Quli Khan (the first Nawab of Bengal) brought the mango here and as of now, there are only 25 trees of the species left. Each Kohitur mango costs Rs 300,” said another organiser.

Japanese variety Miyazaki which costs around Rs 2.5 lakh per kilo is also on display, apart from Golapkhash, Lyangra and Suryapuri.

“Among the varieties, 20 species have been brought from Bangladesh. Around 80 mango growers from Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, Burdwan, Purulia and North Dinajpur districts and from Bihar are participating in the fest. We also plan to promote rural tourism through the event,” said Basu.

At the fest, visitors will also have the option to check out different products made from mangoes. They include aam papad (mango wafers), aam guro (mango powder), aam ras (mango juice), pickles and items like mango pudding, mango shakes and custard.

Also, handicrafts and handloom items made in different parts of Bengal and in the neighbouring countries of Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh have been displayed at the event.

“There will be live music performances and even live demonstrations of handicrafts,” he added.

Among other events which would be held during thefestival are a mango eating contest, sit and draw, fashion walk, story writing, music, song and dance competition, screening of documentary films and cooking, sources said.