Fruits of Portuguese labour

Did you know that the tomato, which finds place on our dining table in different delicious forms, has had to journey all the way from Sou...

Did you know that the tomato, which finds place on our dining table in different delicious forms, has had to journey all the way from South America? Or that the juicy guava can be traced to Mexico and South America? Both these unrelated fruits have one factor in common – Portuguese navigators. They sailed the high seas for trade and have contributed to the occurrence of these fruits in our country and our diet.

It is this and other interesting nuggets of information that await the visitor to the botany department at the University of Pune (UoP), where an exhibition on the role played by Portuguese navigators in the journey of various plants has been on display from January 22 onwards.

Adventures of Plants and Portuguese Navigation’, as this exhibition is called, has been jointly organised by the Instituto Camoes-Portuguese, Cultural Centre, New Delhi, the Indian Maritime Foundation (IMF) and the department of botany, UoP.

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The exhibition, comprising 77 photographic panels along with informative displays including the sea routes, portrays the interesting story of the exchange of plants between continents and the effect this introduction had on the diet of those continents. Cassava and yams, for instance, were oriental plants introduced to the African continent by the Portuguese.

The exhibition, divided into three sections according to the places of the plants’ origin – America, Asia and Africa – takes the visitor on an absorbing journey into the past. Trade included the exchange of these plants brought from the newly-discovered continents to Europe around the 16th century. But only after investigation into how they were used by the local population – whether for agriculture, ornamentation or as medicine.

Says Captain Rajan Vir (retd.), president, IMF, “The idea behind the exhibition is to spread awareness about the Portuguese contribution in this field which has not been studied from the agricultural and maritime point of view but has had a lasting scientific, technical, economic and social impression. It also seeks to emphasise the connection between the mariners and plants. When the exhibition was brought to New Delhi by the Instituto Camoes-Portuguese, the IMF requested its director, Dr. Luis de Moura Rodrigues, for it to be brought to Pune”.

Yes, the panels on display have also had their own share of travel! The exhibition, originally from Macao, was first displayed at Indonesia, from where they halted at New Delhi for a month before their Pune visit. “The exhibition has drawn a good response and we propose to take the exhibition to Goa before returning to Macao,” says Harpreet Singh, secretary, Embassy of Portugal, Cultural Centre. Its Pune halt extends up to February 3 and it will be open from 11 a.m. to 7.30 p.m.