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One for the jog
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The Samrats believe that a drink a day can keep the doctor away
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Herbal juices are an incentive to rise early. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy
IF YOU want to try one of these drinks, you need to be an early riser. They are available only between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m.. But if you check them out once, they might just prove to be incentives to make you rise early the next day.
For four years now, many a morning walker and jogger in the city has been lured into getting up early, thanks to the "juice therapy" of Manjula and K.S. Samrat. The couple offer 24 varieties of juices made with filtered and magnetised water in 25 juice therapy kiosks in different parts of the city.
"We work on a no profit-no loss basis," says Mr. Samrat. Ms. Manjula and Mr. Samrat first set up shop at Lal Bagh and Cubbon Park, and followed it up with stalls at Banashankari, Rajajinagar, Malleswaram, Jayanagar, J.P. Nagar, Koramangala, HSR Layout, Basaveshwarnagar, and Mariyappanapalya. With help from one of their patrons, they have even opened a centre in Mysore.
Mr. Samrat has been into research and practice of magneto-therapy for over 30 years and is the author of Magnets for Your Health. Ms. Manjula, who was interested in natural cures, learnt more about them from Raghavendra Swamiji of Malladihalli. She later taught her husband and other family members. What started out as an interest later became a mission: to help people regain health naturally. The children in the family, Mr. Samrat's brother, K.S. Gopal, and his wife, Prema also pitched in and a preparation centre was set up at Rajajinagar, from where the juices are distributed to all centres every morning.
The juices are made from amruta balli, bilwa, brahmi, pudina, tulsi, neem, cucumber, carrot, onion, garlic, and so on. There are specific concoctions to address specific health problems. The family members and other trained persons clean and sort out the vegetables, fruits, and herbs in the morning. They get a supply of fresh vegetables and fruits once every three days from a family friend's farm at Hosur, to make sure no harmful pesticides creep into the preparations, says Ms. Manjula. "We do six rounds of cleaning alternatively with hot and cold water," she adds.
The water that is used for the preparation of the juices is first filtered and then magnetised by keeping it between two powerful magnets. Magnetised water, the Samrats say, is good for health. Vegetables, herbs, and fruits are then ground in the right proportion. The process begins in the evening, so that the entire process is completed by dawn. The juices are then transferred to steel canisters and taken to various localities by 6 a.m..
A cup of 170 ml. of any variety of juice costs Rs. 5. It is advisable to begin with a sip, move on to 75 ml. the next few days, and then to the entire 150-170 ml. dosage, say the Samrats. They say that the right quantities of herbs and vegetables are mixed to avoid side effects. Tulsi produces heat in the body, but is mixed with a cooler ingredient such as amla, cucumber, or pumpkin.
A summer drink is prepared April and May. The drink is a combination of pudina, cucumber, lemon, white pumpkin, and coriander. This is a good thirst buster, keeps the body cool, and is useful against sun-strokes, say the Samrats. For the cold months of November and December, there are hot soups.
Why are the juice therapy stalls open only early in the mornings? Ms. Manjula observes: "It is better to take it on an empty stomach. The effect is best felt then." Mr. Samrat adds: "If people drink the juice and then go on a walk, every cell in the body feels the positive effect quicker and better."
But then, of course, there are also people with chronic problems who drink some specific juices more than once a day. They buy the juice in the morning and drink it by the end of the day. "We do not use preservatives," says Mr. Samrat, "So, the juice is not fresh for more than a day."
There are days when about 10 per cent of the juice prepared has to be disposed of because it is not sold. "We have fewer customers on rainy mornings and a lot of juice remains unsold," the Samrats admit. But on most regular days, the juice therapy kiosks are a crowd pullers.
People suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol claim to have benefited by the Samrats' juice therapy. Some say they have got rid of gastric disorders, constipation, obesity, migraine headaches, and even disorder of the pancreas in a matter of weeks. "In six months of taking the juice for curing acidity, I have found the kind of relief that medication could not give me in 50 years," says an elderly regular customer.
"We are carrying on because this gives us a great deal of happiness and satisfaction," says Ms. Manjula. "It is the positive feedback that we receive from people that keeps us going," Mr. Samrat adds. "After all, we started this so that people can revert to healthy and natural ways of living."
The Samrats can be contacted on 3353660/ 3307354/ 36909594.
VIDYA HEGDE
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