The sweet lime (Citrus limetta) traveled across continents before becoming the familiar mosambi of India. Its origins trace back to Mozambique, where Portuguese traders first encountered the fruit and brought it to India’s west coast. There it became mosambi, a local adaptation of “Mozambique.”
Trade routes, however, gave the fruit a second life and a second name. Portuguese and Dutch merchants carried it eastward to Batavia (present‑day Jakarta), a bustling hub of maritime commerce. From Batavia it traveled to Machilipatnam on India’s east coast, where it came to be known as battayi.
This journey from Africa to Southeast Asia and into India explains why one commonly found fruit, whose history many of us may not know, carries a dual identity that reflects centuries of maritime trade. Next time when you enjoy a glass of sweet lime juice, remember its journey shaped by oceans, merchants, and cultural exchange.
