Known for his experiments on farm, UP's 'mango man' now poll ambassador

MALIHABAD: Haji Kalimullah, the

mango

man of UP, now has an added responsibility. Apart from creating records for growing varieties of mangoes, he will now also make an appeal to voters near him to use their franchise on the polling day.

At 78, Haji Kalimullah says that he is happy to accept he responsibility on his able shoulders

The Mahilabad tehsil administration has made him the brand ambassador for the

Lok Sabha elections

. At the age of 78, the Padma Shri awardee says it is a "big responsibility" but it is one he is happy to accept on his ageing but able shoulders.

"People here love me. I know they will listen to me. I will try to go to each and every house and ask people to vote. I have also been seeking suggestions on how to live my new role to the best," said Kalimullah. Last week, Malihabad

tehsildar

Nikhil Shukla and naib tehsildar Dhruvnarayan had visited his orchard and handed him a yellow slip which had names of all eight voters in his family. The slip also conveyed the message that he was a brand ambassador for these elections. Kalimullah hassince not taken out the slip from his pocket.

"Muslims and Hindus alike would tell you how much they love me. Woh bolenge yeh mulk ka wafadar hai (They would vouch for my unwavering loyalty to my country). I have worked very hard to earn this reputation," he said.

For someone who spends most of his time nurturing the fruit of his labour, Monday is like any other day. After coming to the orchard, he gets into a game of chess with his childhood friends. The only thing different, though, is that conversations these days inevitable veer towards elections and Kalimullah's new duty. "I am a seventh standard drop-out. I failed the exams. Even by the age of 17, I knew or was interested in nothing other than growing mangoes," he said.

Kalimullah's orchard has been around since 1935. Experiments to develop varieties of mangoes were conducted by his forefathers. Kalimullah has continued the tradition over the years.

Like his own life, his orchard too, is not untouched by politics. Time and again, he has named mango varieties after political leaders. The king of fruits has been named after PM Narendra Modi, former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav, cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar and actor Aishwarya Rai .