Meet the 'Mango Man' who grafted 300 mango varieties onto a single tree

In India, mangoes and summers go hand in hand. The beginning of the season for mangoes creates a plethora of mango varieties flowing into stores and enticing everyone around. While mangoes have been Indians' desired fruits for centuries, there is one man, earning a nickname of ' Mango Man of India ' and genuinely favored by his people, enjoying a special, intimate connection with this fruit: Kaleem Ullah Khan . His exceptional contributions in horticulture have won him this moniker and placed him in a well-known position among mango cultivators.




Kaleem Ullah Khan the ‘ Mango Man ’s tree of 300 varieties


Kaleem Ullah Khan's love for mangoes motivated him to do something remarkable. In his native place Malihabad, Uttar Pradesh, he made a 120-year-old mango tree a horticultural wonder. This run-of-the-mill-looking tree, superficially, has more than 300 varieties of mangoes, every one of which has a different taste, color, and form. It has drawn the attention of horticulturists and mango enthusiasts alike.


Khan started grafting at a very young age of 17. Instead of taking up a regular career, he used to spend his days working on trees and experimenting with things in hopes of producing something new. His initial passion for horticulture did not waste much time before blooming, and he began grafting mangoes as well as other fruits. Throughout the years, his dedication and skill permitted him to become a master in his craft and be well known in grafting.


Khan's passion for horticulture was acknowledged at the national level in 2008 when he received the highly regarded Padma Shri Award, a major civilian honor in India. The award was a recognition of his immense contribution to the horticulture profession, especially his invention of grafting mangoes.




Kaleem Ullah Khan’s mango varieties named after prominent icons



India has a humongous array of mango varieties—Totapuri, Langra, Dussehri, Fazli, Chausa, Safeda, Ratol, Malda, and many more.
But Khan went one step further and gave his grafted varieties of mangoes the names of prominent personalities. His first special variety, 'Aishwarya,' was actually named after Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan when she won the title of Miss World in 1994. Khan has since then also bestowed mangoes with other icons' names in gratitude, such as 'Anarkali,' 'Sachin Tendulkar,' and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi.



Kaleem Ullah Khan’s journey from limited education to horticultural excellence



What makes more of Khan's story is his academic background. Even though he never went to school beyond seventh grade, Khan never lost his desire to learn. He hated school immensely, but learned what real education was all about at the farm. Khan started working with his father in their own nursery at the age of 17, where he tried his first grafting experiment. While the tree he grafted died in the rains, he never lost hope. Instead, he held firm, learning from every failure and perfecting his art in the process.


Kaleem Ullah Khan's journey from a young boy playing around with grafting to one of India's top horticulturists is a testament to his curiosity, persistence, and long-term love for the natural world. Kaleem Ullah Khan. His achievement is so exemplary for so many, proving that hard work towards something one loves, in spite of any barriers, will yield stunning results. Khan is now not just referred to as the 'Mango Man,' but as an example of how persistence can turn everyday efforts into monumental acts of giving.





Also Read | Watch | Man's daring cobra encounter goes viral, capturing millions on Instagram with comments praising his 'positive aura'