New Life for Goli Soda

In recent times the word `Goli Soda` became famous in Tamil Nadu as the title of a successful Tamil feature film released in 2014,  warranting a sequel titled `Goli Soda-2` which is under production. It is also the name of an online store in Chennai which showcases products of innovative designers using recycled materials.  But to a whole generation of Indians, Goli soda, or Goti Soda meant a fruit flavoured soft drink used to quench a thirsty throat in the sizzling summer months. The popping of the `goli’ or the marble with the index finger would pave the way for the fizz coming out of the bottle, which was an experience by itself. When I had this experience at a party in Chennai recently, I decided to explore the story behind the `Goli Soda`.

The bottle and the idea for the drink were imported into India in the early 20^th century. Hiram Codd of Camberwell, a Britisher, designed, developed and patented the Codd Bottle for carbonated drinks in the year 1872. Also termed as the Codd-neck bottle, it encloses a marble and a rubber washer/gasket in the neck. The bottle is filled upside down, and pressure of the gas in the bottle forces the marble against the washer, sealing in the carbonation.

The 150-year-old eco friendly bottle has remained unchanged over the years, and the design is quite ingenious. One side of the bottle has two ridges on the neck. It is only from this side that the drink can be poured out into a glass or straight into the mouth. Try pouring it out the other side, and the marble automatically bobs up and acts as a stopper.

The Codd Bottle became popular in Europe, Asia and Australasia but not in USA. In Japan it is popular under the brand name Ramune, available in 36 flavours.  In India the Codd Bottle is also known as kancha bottle, goli bottle, and soda bottle in different parts of the country, Goli Soda being the most popular name: available in two varieties viz. Plain Soda Water (Aerated Soda Water) and Flavored Soda Water (Aerated Beverages) containing flavors of lemon, ginger (Masala Soda), milk rose ( Panneer), mango, pineapple etc in syrup base and this preparation is also made using carbon dioxide gas (Co2) under pressure. 

Goli Soda production was essentially a cottage industry in India because of the ease with which the manually operated system could be set up. In the olden days every well to do family had a unit operating within their homes. The clinking and clanging sound of the bottles by the vendors promoting various local brands of Goli soda was a familiar sight near bus & rail terminals across the country.

The advent of the multinational soft drink brands like Coke & Pepsi and a whole range of regional brands of soft drinks available in disposable plastic bottles at affordable prices has almost sounded the death knell for the traditional Goli Soda makers. Besides the high cost of the Codd bottle and also stringent rules governing food & beverages have resulted in many of the traditional bottlers of Goli Soda exiting the market. According to a veteran Goli soda maker in the city, Madras had close to 500 soda manufacturers in the 70s. The number today has dwindled to less than 30.  Most of them are cheap products produced in unhealthy surroundings without any quality checks and are sold at Rs 10/- or less.

Kali Aerated Water Works, one of the oldest soft drink manufacturers in the country with brands like Bovonto, had been a popular goli soda maker in Tamil Nadu. They exited the business because of difficulties involved in cleaning the bottle. The shortage of glass bottles controlled by a single supplier in the country based in UP also added to the conundrum.

There is hope for the revival of this business thanks to the initiatives of some young entrepreneurs, professionals who have given up secure corporate jobs in order to give the goli soda its fizz back.  In its new avathar Goli soda is positioned as a premium product. In an attempt to capitalize on the growing apprehensions about the negative effects of plastic bottles on the health of the people they are promoting the eco friendly nature of the glass bottles used in Goli Soda.  The fact that the new brands are adhering to quality standards prescribed by FSSAI and are produced in hygienic conditions adds credibility to the new efforts.

The brands are also trying .to invoke  nostalgia in the old timers and offer younger generation a new experience of drinking an alternative soft drink in recyclable glass bottles, with less preservatives, chemicals and plastic contaminants. The negative publicity against the multinational brands and the decision of the dealers to boycott such brands in Tamil Nadu last year have opened a window of opportunity for the Goli Sodas in the highly competitive soft drink market.

Though priced at Rs. 50/- plus, (some high-end restaurants sell the product at Rs.125/-) the growing popularity of Goli Soda among the younger generation belonging to the upper class in Chennai, especially at parties, high end restaurants and the popular clubs, where these brands are available, provides hope for the revival of the Goli Soda idea. But how will any new comer face the perennial problem of short supply of the Codd bottles, when they decide to scale up,  is an issue for which there seems to be no immediate answer. Yet I am sure that the youngsters will find a solution to the problem as and when they have to cross that bridge!

The edited version of the above article has appeared in Madras Musings issue

 dt 1-15^th  May,2018.

Feedback welcome on rvrajan42@gmail.com

Missing chappals!

   Last year, within six months I lost three pairs of new chappals (footwear)- one outside a temple complex, one inside a marriage hall and one outside a Doctor`s clinic.  Having been `thrice bitten` I have learnt my lessons. Today I carry an extra-old pair of chappals in my car which I wear whenever I enter any public place where I am expected to leave behind the footwear before entering the venue. If the distance between the parked car and the venue is short I  leave them behind in the car  and walk barefoot to the venue.

It is not uncommon in many of these venues to find your new pair of chappals  missing and in its place an identical but old worn out pair staring at you. 

A  friend was reluctantly compelled to walk away with someone else`s pair of chappals when he found his own missing outside a temple in a village. ` What to do yaar, I heard that there were no footwear shops in the village and  it was so hot in the afternoon that I shuddered at the thought of walking around barefoot,` he said sheepishly. So much for his conscience!

I remember an occasion when I was the guilty party. Let me explain. I was travelling back from Trichy by Rockfort Express.  I normally get off only at Egmore, the final destination of the train. But that day as the train was entering Mambalam station I had an impulse to get down so that I could save some time reaching Adyar where I live.  As I was  getting out of my chappals after reaching home, I realized that one of the chappals was brand new-  identical to the old one I was wearing on the other foot. Obviously in my great hurry to get down I had blindly worn the mismatched pair of chappals next to my seat. The number of times I choked on my `saliva` (Porai) that morning  made me realize  that the gentleman who lost his brand new chappal must be cursing me repeatedly.  Thanks to my absent mindedness I had made two  pairs of chappals; his as well as mine useless!

Then there are people who are so possessive of their footwear, old or new , that they discreetly  pack the pair of chappals in a bag and tuck it under their armpits as they walk into the sanctum sanctorum of temples. You see, they don`t trust the guys who promise to look after their  pair of footwear for a small fee. Reminding me of the old pre-security days, when villagers, who could not afford to hire rooms,  carried  their small steel trunks containing their belongings on their heads inside the sanctum sanctorum of the  Balaji temple in Tirupathi causing a lot of inconvenience to fellow devotees; especially those behind them whose view of the deity was obstructed by the trunk.

I have also come across anxious devotees, when visiting small street side temples, who keep peeping out every time they come to the entrance, while going around the sanctum sanctorum  to ensure that the footwear that they have left behind just outside the temple, is not missing. They are more worried about their footwear than concentrating on the deity.

One solution to this problem can be to insure your expensive footwear from loss due to theft, fire etc. Will insurance companies consider such an insurance policy not only for foot wear but also other expensive items like mobile phones, wrist watches, gold jewellery etc which  we have in our person  when we go out? An idea worth pondering over!

This article has appeared in Adyar Times issue dt.29^th April -5^th May,2018 under my column `Rajan`s Random Reflections`