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Taking the fizz out of soft drinks
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Packed with nutrients and great taste, the humble sugarcane also has a philosophical dimension to it
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FRESH TASTE This is one drink that gives you more than your money's worth PHOTO: SAMPATH KUMAR G.P.
The common sugarcane is said to have a spiritual side to it. Besides offering it to Lord Ganesha during Ganesh Chaturthi, it is also used as an example to explain the essence of life. If you have to get the taste of sugarcane, you have to, with great perseverance, bite into the fibrous body before you taste its refreshing juice. So is life.
Any tired and thirsty man will readily subscribe to the spiritual theory as soon as he takes the first sip of the cool juice. As soon as the glorious-tasting liquid goes down that parched throat and fills your drained out limbs with energy, the life-giving properties of the elixir are evident.
Come summer and thousands of exhausted souls crave for this experience. The long, hard stem is also said to pack a whole lot of nutrients and is known for its therapeutic value. The property that recharges a sapped soul is said to come from the abundant supply of carbohydrates and iron in it. The green, tropical sugarcane is said to be the sweetest and the juiciest, and has enough of goodness to give even the mighty elephant. Stomach, kidneys, heart, eyes, brain and even reproductive organs are strengthened by it. It assists in the passage of urine, improves the functioning of the kidneys, and expedites recovery from jaundice.
Between the nodes lie properties that help soothe high acidity, gonorrhoea, enlarged prostate, cystitis and nephritis, though you may not know it. And while you tear the fibrous stem out and chew the juice out, your teeth are getting strengthened all the while. It is also a fattening agent and those who are underweight can have liberal helpings of it.
Spirituality or good health aside, with summer around, people flock to sugarcane juice vending stalls. They seek that cool, quenching sip to recharge themselves after the sun's sapping act. Provided the water and ice used for making the juice is of respectable source, the extract can be had in liberal doses. There are some established sugarcane vending stalls all over the city like in the Majestic area, Gandhibazaar, Kalasipalyam, Shivajinagar and Jayanagar.
Says Ramesh Kumar, who runs the Shanti Juice Centre on Double Road: "Business booms round the year and people have been visiting the shop for the last 30 years."
Ramesh's father Sohanlal started the shop three decades ago and regulars seldom pass by without stopping for a glass or two.
The juice itself, with the right proportion of lime and ginger, draws thirsty souls to the shop but the fact that Ramesh ensures hygiene keeps them coming again and again. He first scrapes the cane clean and is particular about the water he uses. Since he makes the ice for the juice himself, the juice is safe to consume. With no flies around and spic and span surroundings, the shop has been drawing his customers for years, who vouch for the consistency in taste too.
Says Shilpa S. Chabbria, an associate client-servicing executive at Team Lease: "I am a regular at this juice centre. When I was young, my father used to bring me here on his scooter and on the way back I used to pester him to stop again for a drink." She says she even used to skip lunch to accommodate her favourite drink.
Despite her busy schedule, Shilpa makes sure she doesn't miss her usual, which she swears tastes just the same as it did years ago.
M.V. CHANDRASHEKAR
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