Summer in a glass

A grocery store that’s almost a century old sells what’s arguably the best mango drink in the city

It’s 2 pm and the sun roasts us as we hop off the scooter to grab a drink at C Kunhiraman General Stores under Royapuram Bridge. An unlikely place for such a stopover, one would think. But the humble shop has built a reputation for its mango milk, badam milk, and lemon and grape juice. There are hardly any customers inside the store, but there’s a small crowd at it’s entrance — bikers, pedestrians, women travelling by auto — they’ve all stopped by for the juices.

Most of them are regulars and swear by the drinks, which — though available through the year — sell by leaps and bounds in the summer. The store sells 50 litres a day during this season, informs K T Ashok who runs the store. Equally popular is the in-house mango ice-cream. “We’ve been selling the juices for over 50 years,” explains Ashok.

Served in plastic cups, the juices and ice-cream are sold at a counter at the entrance. Chunks of the fruit float inside the mildly-sweet grape juice. The tangy lemon juice, though nothing spectacular, is pretty refreshing. But the thick, sweet mango milk is the most sought-after of them all. The drink, served at just the right temperature, is perfect for the summer.

We down two cups of mango milk and wonder if we should order one more, when K Surendar, who assists in preparing the juices, catches our attention. He ladles the juices from the freezer for customers — it’s peak hour and he works non-stop, with almost mechanical precision. Ladle, pour, serve; ladle, pour, serve.

Surendar is clearly proud of the antique freezer. The rectangular metal structure has six compartments for cylindrical containers that stores the juices. “This freezer can maintain the temperature of the drinks for a full day, even if there’s no electricity,” he boasts. The mango milk is his favourite, too. So, how many cups of it does he drink a day? “I don’t keep count,” he laughs.

The store sells 50 litres of juice a day during this season, informs K T Ashok, who runs the store. Equally popular is the in-house mango ice-cream

I want some mor

At about 8.30 pm every day, most of Thiruvanmiyur beach’s vendors pack up and call it a day. It may seem rather early, but there’s no point in them staying open any later. At that time, all potential customers are headed in just one direction. Because that is when S Ramajeyam, also known as ‘Mor Thatha’, opens his stall.

Every night, there is a crowd of people of all ages waiting eagerly to be served a glass of buttermilk with boondi and slices of raw mango. “People come in rickshaws and BMWs to have thatha ’s mor,” says Mohan, a regular customer, talking about thatha’s rising popularity.

He has doubled the price of the buttermilk from Rs. 15 to Rs. 30 over the past two years, and yet the demand has only grown.

Many of his customers say they found their way to Ramajeyam through social media, as he has his own Facebook page (named ‘ECR Butter Milk Thatha’) as well as a location on Google Maps. Over the years, there have been quite a few videos on YouTube about his story.

What is kava?

* Kava or Yaqona is a pepper tree native to the South Pacific Islands. Its roots are pounded, the pulp is mixed with water and strained through a cloth.

* The intensity of the kava drink is proportional to the concentration of the pulp or root powder, and the drink can vary from tasteless to bitter, leaving you feeling numb for a minute or two. It takes many bowls of kava to get the headiness of alcohol, but without its after effects.

* Kava is a part of the islanders’ lifestyle. They swear by its anti-depressant and medicinal properties, and even recommend it to pregnant women.

* Kava is exported as pills and powders to the US, while the UK and a few European nations have a ban on kava. There is a need for further scientific research and the jury is still out on whether kava is as healthy as it is touted to be.

8 Alcoholic Drinks That Might Secretly Keep You Healthy

Dr. Sushma Jaiswal M.Sc - Dietician / Nutritionist, B.Sc Home Science

According to the preconceived notion, drinking alcohol is harmful to the body. It is partly true. Drinking alcohol is harmful to the body, but only in huge proportions. In fact, despite popular belief, drinking alcohol is also good for health.

Here are 8 alcohols that are secretly keeping you healthy:

Beer: The most common alcoholic drink, beer is loaded with antioxidants called phenols. This protects you against suffering from heart diseases. Beer also lowers the risk of acquiring high blood pressure and helps maintaining it.

Red Wine: Apart from being a classy drink and having the same benefits of beer, the additional brownie points of red wine is that it helps in increasing life span by generating longevity genes. It also increases good cholesterol and reduces bad cholesterol in the body.

Ethanol: Ethanol reduces the risk of wear and tear in the brain neurons. Any damage to the neurons may lead to Alzheimer's or dementia. Hence ethanol helps to prevent any harm to the brain cells.

Vodka: Vodka helps in clearing bad breath as the high alcohol content kills all bad odour bacteria present. It also helps to reduce stress and disinfect wound. It improves the health of the skin and stimulates hair growth. Toothache is also another issue which Vodka can work wonders on.

Whisky: Whisky helps to numb throat pain when it is gargled in a mixture with warm water. It stimulates weight loss. Whisky also helps in preventing dementia. Other benefits of this drink that it prevents diabetes and cancer. It also helps to keep the heart healthy, increases the level of good cholesterol and terminates blood clots. Whiskey is believed to be one of the healthiest drinks among the alcoholic beverages.

Tonic: The combination of gin and tonic is very useful while treating malarial infection as it contains quinine; which is used for the treatment of malaria.

Brandy: Brandy is one alcoholic drink which is full of healthy antioxidants. It has anti ageing properties; hence is very good for the skin. Brandy also reduces the level of bad cholesterol in the body. It also helps in the treatment of bladder and ovarian cancer as well as sore throats and cough.

Rum: Rum increases life longevity. It is very beneficial for the heart. It also functions as a blood thinner and helps in increasing the level of good cholesterol. Having this wonderful drink occasionally also guards you against osteoporosis and common cold...                                     as received through whatsapp