By Nikhat Fatima, TwoCircles.net
Of late the favourite refreshing cool drink in almost every household during summers has been unavailable in the market giving rise to speculations and rumours such as Rooh Afza being banned; Hamdard labs have not paid their taxes, a property dispute and so on.
Another rumour circulated is about an internal property dispute between the owners of the company that has resulted in non-production of the product.
A retailer in Solapur who gets his supply from Mumbai said, ” We are not getting Rooh Afza from the last three months. I heard that it is because of a property dispute between the family members. We are being assured that it will be sent soon”.
TwoCircles.net called up the Hamdard Laboratories, New Delhi and spoke to Hamid Ahmed, one of the lab research staff who clarified that , “ Rooh Afza has not disappeared from the market but due to some unavoidable circumstances the production was held up. But before the holy month of Ramadan, In sha Allah it will be back in the market in all outlets”.
Rooh Afza a concentrated squash has been around for more than a hundred years.
It was first formulated by Naqi in 1906 in Ghaziabad, British India and launched from Old Delhi, India. Currently, Rooh Afza is manufactured by the companies founded by him and his sons, Hamdard (Waqf) Laboratories, Pakistan and Hamdard (Wakf) Laboratories, India. Since 1948, the company has been manufacturing the product in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. (Source: Wikipedia)
The brand name has been inspired by the poetic book ‘Masnavi Gulzar e Nasim’ (garden of poetic collections by Nasim) by Pandit Daya Shankar Nasim”. Rooh Afza, the daughter of a king , is a character in the book. Rooh Afza in Urdu means something that refreshes the soul.
This sherbet is more popular in the month of Ramadan when after a long day’s fast it quenches the thirst and provides relief to the devotee. It is a must among the iftar items in many a house irrespective of the season because it is thought to adjust the water and sugar balance in the body.
Rooh Afza contains herbs and roots that are supposed to act as cooling agents, and flowers to give the aroma that makes it unique
Many people have tweeted about the unavailability saying that this summer Rooh Afza is not going to be available because the suppliers have not got the fresh stock from Hamdard Laboratories and have sold off all their old stock of last year.
Sold in all Hamdard outlets, general stores and even shopping malls, Rooh Afza has not been available from the last few months in any city of India. It seems to be available on some online shopping sites but priced at Rs. Rs.435/- much more than its usual price of Rs.130/-.
Another staff of Hamdard Laboratories said, “ There was something wrong with the machinery which is why we could not make Rooh Afza. All those things being said about Rooh Afza disappearing from the market are baseless. We have begun supplying it and will ensure that it is supplied in all the cities, towns and districts where we have our distributors”