Page 8 - Seniorstoday May 2022 Issue

tongues and hearts. Eating ice-cream is an
act of a complete surrender of your senses.
For a moment you forget the world and
allow pleasure to rule over you.
In those five minutes the world takes on
the dreamy quality of time moving in slow
motion. There is nothing intellectual or
negative and the world looks like a good
place to be in. An ice-cream evokes an age of
innocence and we go back to our childhood
and feel nostalgic about the simplicity of
the good old days. Vanilla and orange were
the most popular ready ice-cream flavours.
Whereas kesar pista was the topper in the
hand churned variety. Many Gujrati and
Marwadi households actually had hand
churners at home. Much later the world
progressed and chocolate overtook all other
flavours.
Ahmedabad is the ice-cream capital of
India. The Gujrati’s have perfected the art
of creating flavors. Take a after dinner stroll
around the Kankaria lake, and you will find
hundreds of ice-cream parlors serving all
kinds of flavours chikku, sitaphal, orange,
jamun, guava, rose, almond, roasted
almonds. Strawberries, tender coconut,
blueberries, butterscotch all kinds of
chocolate combinations. Despite all these
varieties the kesar-pista would still be the
topper. (Maybe the rest of India needs to
learn something from the Gujratis).
8
India with its huge knowledge of
Ayurveda, has a large variety of summer
drinks that have hydrating, probiotic and
curative qualities. This is my list of 10
drinks I am sure there are a lot more than
these and If I miss out on any popular drink
do write to me.
1. Lassi: Each region has its own version
of lassi, the Punjabi lassi is made with
malai and sugar. The south Indian lassi
with tadka of rai (mustard), ginger, curry
leaf, asafoetida (hing), a sprig of pudina to
cool the stomach. Between these two there
are many versions of the lassi. In Punjab
and North India there is another version
called Kutchi lassi - milk diluted with sugar
and ice which is also consumed in large
quantities.
2. Sherbet: The most common summer
coolers are sherbets, khus, rose, chandan,
badam. These were homemade varieties.
Enterprising women made orange and
lemon squashes at home and proudly
showed off their skills.
3. Rooh Afza: It is a favourite summer
drink that every home serves. One added
tulsi seeds (Shabza) that were soaked in
water for a few hours. These seeds also
help in cooling the stomach and relieving
constipation. Rooh afza has been around for
over 100 years and I think it will continue
for another 100.