Malihabad is a town near Lucknow (India). It is the mango belt of North India and is internationally acclaimed for its mangoes. Among different varieties of mangoes grown here, Dussheri is the most popular variety . Malihabad has several claims to fame. It was home to Urdu poet Josh Malihabadi and tennis champion Ghaus Mohammed. Shyam Benegal's celluloid caper, Junoon, based on Ruskin Bond's A Fli
ght of Pigeons and featuring Shashi Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah and Nafisa Ali, was shot extensively in Malihabad. But it is the Dussehri mango that has put the village on the world map. The Malihabadi Dussehri was granted Geographical Indication registration in 2009. It now sits on the same exalted pedestal as Darjeeling Tea and Coorg Orange (Karnataka)
The first Dussehri was grown some 150 years ago. That tree still exists, and locals say it is "in good health". There are about 2,000 nurseries here and almost 30,000 hectares under mango plantation. The economy of Malihabad runs on the Dussehri mango.
