A fruit that served as love charm & eating it guaranteed immortality

In these days of indigestion, Of fever and congestion, A new and pleasant remedy has lately come to light; 'Tis a cure-all pure and simple, The very latest wrinkle - Just eat a big round apple and you'll be all right.

- Chinmay Damle

In these days of indigestion, of fever and congestion, a new and pleasant remedy has lately come to light; 'Tis a cure-all, pure and simple, the very latest wrinkle - Just eat a big round apple and you'll be all right. (Exchanger, September 1905)

The apple was an object of luxury for most of the twentieth-century Poona. "Foreign" fruits like apples, peaches, pears, and strawberries were so generally regarded as a symbol of opulence that their dietetic value as food was largely overlooked. Apple was a much-coveted novelty that appeared in the Poona markets from Kangra and other parts of Northern India in November-December. In 1904, according to the cookbook "Anglo-Indian Cuisine," by Lady Constance Gordon, apples cost ₹3 per dozen in Bombay and Poona. Only the rich could afford it.

Apples, in another form, the "silver apple," were desired in early twentieth-century Poona. Known as "Chandiche safarchand" in Marathi, they were a "karada," an apple-shaped casket made of metal and polished with silver, used to store vermillion powder or other such articles. They were gifted to newlywed brides or awarded to the winners of contests and competitions held especially for women.

The "chandiche safarchand" came in various sizes. The winner of a contest was, of course, awarded the largest silver apple, the size of a real apple while the second runner-up received the silver apple the size of a lemon.

The apple was a "miracle fruit" for several centuries. It occurred in countless myths and legends across the globe. It was a magical object that nourished people. It served as a love charm and eating it guaranteed immortality. In Arabian Nights, Prince Ahmed had apples that he had purchased at Samarkand and that cured every human ailment. In eighteenth-century Britain, "Prince Ahmed's apple" referred to a cure for every disorder.

In 1878, the sanitarium at Poorandhur (Purandar) decided to include the "apple cure" in its list of therapies.