Reviving Childhood Memories: Tamarind Trees — A Source Of Positivity, Happiness, And Healthy Environment
It keeps the Environment Clean
When I was young there were three tamarind trees in my home. The tamarind is very sour when they are babies and becomes green and sour as they grow and when they mature they become brown and sourish sweet.
When you eat it, it first feels sour and then after you eat it you get an aftertaste don’t find it too sour and quite enjoy it.
My mother did not advocate eating too much tamarind because children should not suffer by getting sick from the sour taste.
The trees in our home were very tall. My child’s mind could not fathom its exact height but I learned that normally tamarind trees are about 80 ft tall. It had thin feathery leaves.
I along with my friends and cousins spent many afternoons hitting stones to get the tamarinds on the floor and naughtily eating the forbidden fruit.
Looking up at the height of the tree always gave a sense of positivity and happiness playing around these tamarind trees.
My mother made delicious salads, dishes, and desserts by putting in a little tamarind pulp. The food tasted nice and tangy. It was a sense of feel-good.
Three weeks ago I traveled to Vietnam on a vacation.
When I went to HoChi Min I was happy to see Tamarind trees. In fact, the whole town was full of tamarind trees.
My childhood memories flashed and it brought a smile to my face. It is strange that there were 3 trees in my home and they always made me positive and happy. I never knew the reason for it.
I asked the guide if we would be stopping by because I really enjoy tamarind trees.
He told us that the purpose of bringing us to that particular park was to show us that they had specially cultivated tamarind trees in Ho Chi Min.
When I heard these words the same joy came back. I got down from the tourist bus looking up at the tall trees. I could not help it. I excitedly said, “They are 80 feet high”.
He responded “She is right. In other words, they are approximately 24–25 feet tall.”
All the fellow travelers looked up and I could instantly see happiness in their eyes. Some excited banter about how there was a feeling of freshness around these trees.
The guide told us that in Ho Chi Min tamarind trees were planted to bring freshness in the air. It provides shade to people, food, and beauty.
The tree’s leaves are used to give domestic animals like camels and goats fodder.
I noticed that the leaves are dark green on top and light green below
The leaves do not fall as much as leaves from other trees and can be easily cleaned. So they keep the environment clean.
They make good mulch that helps to conserve soil and enhance fertility. It is an ideal tree for providing shade in hot areas, which could benefit agroforestry systems by protecting young crops from the harsh sunlight.
While the guide was telling us this story of the specially planted tamarind trees for being environment friendly and keeping the city clean one of the members of the group shared with us his experience with tamarinds and why he liked them.
He told us that he was obese earlier and his nutritionist had given him tamarind juice to drink to reduce weight. He lost 10 kilos of weight. So anyone interested in losing weight should definitely ask their doctor. He was definitely not obese but looked like his fat had been controlled.
According to him, Studies suggest that tamarind is rich in Hydrocitric acid which does not allow the enzyme in the body to promote fat storage. It also has the effect of reducing appetite by increasing serotonin neurotransmitter levels. I found an article on the net you can read it if you like about the benefits of tamarind and it does talk about reducing weight.
Another group member added to the conversation and told us that he has a home in a city called Dehradun in India and even that city is full of tamarind trees as the town planners found it is environment friendly.
One lady shared that she keeps tamarind in the fridge always. She prepares a pulp and mixes it with jaggary and then uses it for her souring curries, sauces, chutneys, and beverages.
One popular dish in India is chat and Golgappas. Both require tamarind pulp. We now get the prepared pulp directly from the market and can season our dishes with this readymade one. It is tangy and tasty.
To wrap up
The popular tamarind tree in HoChi Min thus triggered childhood memories of how I loved these tamarind trees.
Sharing experiences with the people present there added flavor to understanding that tamarind trees not only make you happy but they are so useful and also good for the environment.
So let us all enjoy interesting dishes from the tamarind, and those who need it can try it to reduce weight. Of course, our town planners are wise and will surely plant tamarind trees if they are useful for people, animals, and the environment.
Dr. Preeti Singh, 2023.
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