🥭 From Mangoes to Vivaldi : The Symphony of Seasons

CUBE chat
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:herb: CUBE ChatShaala Summary – 06 November 2025

Participants: Sailekshmi, Arunan M.C., Ankita Yadav, Sneha Maurya, Ayush Kumar, Dibyajoti Mahala, Sneha, Seethalakshmi, Ajita

:dart: Highlights of the Discussion

:mango: Mango Flowering Mapping – Mumbai vs. Kerala

The next segment focused on Mango Flowering Mapping, an extension of the “Monday Flowering” project.

  • Ankita’s Observation: Vikhroli, Mumbai (May 2025)
  • Sneha’s Observation: 24 mango trees, Lake Road, Bhandup West, Mumbai

The team compared mango varieties across two regions:

  • Mumbai Varieties: Alphonso, Dasheri, Hapus, Totapari, Chausa, Kesar, Rajapuri, Kalmi
  • Kerala Varieties: Karpooram, Vellari, Perakka

This comparative study sparked a hypothesis:

Does mango flowering time differ across regions due to temperature, humidity, or variety-specific adaptations?

Members noted the potential of building a “Mango Flowering Atlas of India” through collaborative citizen science, integrating regional observations into a unified dataset.

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:notes: Vivaldi and the Seasons of Science

The meeting began with an engaging exploration of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons — Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter — connecting art, music, and ecology. The discussion evolved into an inquiry on seasonal patterns across India, specifically contrasting Kerala and Mumbai.
Participants reflected on the hypothesis:

“Is October the winter season because of a drop in temperature?”

To address this, members compared regional seasonal calendars:

  • Kerala Seasons:
    1. Summer – April
    2. Autumn – August
    3. Winter – December
    4. Rainy – June
  • Mumbai Seasons:
    • Summer – April & May
    • Autumn – September & October
    • Winter – December & January
    • Rainy – June & July

This led to a deeper discussion about how climatic variations shape our perception of seasons — and how one state’s autumn might coincide with another’s pre-winter phase.

:star2: TINKE Moments (This I Never Knew Earlier )

:seedling: Realizing that seasonal definitions are relative — they shift across latitudes and coastal influences.

:musical_score: Drawing parallels between Vivaldi’s symphonic transitions and the cyclical changes observed in nature.

:mango: Recognizing the importance of documenting flowering patterns to understand climate sensitivity in tropical fruit trees.

:earth_africa: Seeing art and science converge — the rhythm of data aligning with the rhythm of music.

:warning: Gaps and Misconceptions Identified

  • Confusion in defining “winter” — October may not universally represent winter; regional climate data is required to validate this.

  • Mango flowering misconception: Many assumed flowering occurs uniformly in May, but data showed local climatic variations strongly influence it.

  • Need for standardized observation format — to compare data effectively between regions like Kerala and Mumbai.

:bulb: What I Learned

I learned that understanding seasons isn’t as simple as a calendar label — it’s a dialogue between temperature, light, and locality. The ChatShaala reminded me that citizen science, like music, requires harmony between observers. When Vivaldi composed The Four Seasons, he captured transitions in nature; when we document flowering patterns, we too compose a melody — one written in data and observation.

:question: Queries for the Community

:musical_score: If music captures transitions through sound, can our flowering data capture them through time?

:cherry_blossom: How do we scientifically define seasons in tropical regions — by temperature, rainfall, or plant behavior?

:mango: Why do mango trees in Mumbai and Kerala bloom at different times — is it genetics or microclimate?

:world_map: Can we build a nationwide Flowering Atlas that tracks seasonal rhythms across India, inspired by Vivaldi’s vision of change?

:books: Reference