Saturday, May 19, 6:54 pm
Saturday Punch: The Unforgettable Banta Sips!
Image Courtesy: http://farm5.static.flickr.com
Summers often remind me of the cold drinks, which I loved just like any other school going child. In those times we didn’t have much trash food available in the market, but yes if I correctly remember, we had a couple of cold drink brands available at as less as Rs 2 per bottle.
The most exciting drink was the unbeatable ‘Banta’, which we still find in rural areas, but not so much in the shops, which believe in selling juices, bottled and canned drinks.
If I were to explain what it means, I would rather refer to Wikipedia for this, which so aptly describes it as, “Banta is a lemon or orange-flavoured drink popular in India. It is available in a Codd-neck bottle, a heavy glass bottle in which a round marble seals the mouth of the bottle by the pressure of the contents, instead of a cap. The distinctive bottle has led to the drink also being called goli soda in some regions (goli = marble).”
I still remember it used to cost not more than 50 paise per bottle, and was much more refreshing than even the costliest soft drinks available today. I am sure most of those who remember their favourite ‘Banta’ will agree with me on this. The excitement would double up with the marble inside it as I would get the real Indian lemony taste in every sip I took – so simple yet so energizing!
Interestingly it even has a group on Facebook, which says, “If you are a true Indian at heart, pop one before you die. And I literally mean pop. Cos the mast nimbu (lemon) drink is entirely desi and our own version of soda. No one knows where it comes from, but everyone knows it’s definitely the best thing ever.”
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- Ramune | Bill Chance - [...] Codd neck bottles produced in India too, to support a cottage industry production of a drink called Banta. Now ...
Da !!!
One more time, you gripped me into my childhood nastolgia.
One of the reason, i used to look upon ‘banta’ for the sake of that banta necked on the bottle, to put into my aquarium.
I am glad ‘banta’ goes global as it has been referred in wikipedia. what a defination !!!
FYI… Sometime, back i got to know the mention of ‘banta’ in the Lonely Planet Series.
Keep Writing.
Thank You for this (banta) sip.
Sudeep
I still enjoy it in my university campus! It’ll always be a fav with me!!
sir ji aap ne muje schooling day yaad dila diye jab hum cricket khel kar aate the or pyas ke maare hum 2-3 soda water pee jaate the oos time es mein agar salt milaya jaaye to or bhi majedar ho jaata hai thanks sir
I totally agree with u amit,by writing all this you refresh my school memories!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this time .thanks! for that. i still enjoy the flavour!!!!!!!
keep writing
meenakshi.
used to be a gr8 drink. now v r 2 scared 2 sip it! sad…btw amit now u can no longer complain wt u did!
its still available in delhi and is a must for me whenever I visit my home…sadly its not to be found in South India…
its ironical how we miss presence of certain things in our lives…