Sticky, binding syrup: The lore of Rooh Afza

Rooh Afza is a concentrated squash made of a myriad of ingredients. It is sweet and refreshing. ‘Rooh’ means the soul, and ‘Afza’ means that which complements the best, which means the syrup is a soul refresher, soothing it. Rooh Afza is sweet and is often mixed with water, milk, or lassi to be consumed on hot summer days. It is popular in the countries of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

Its origins trace back to 1906 when it was formulated in Ghaziabad by Hakeem Muhammad Kabeeruddin (Read this article to know more about Hakeem Muhammad) and introduced by Hakim Hafiz Abdul Majeed, sourced from old Delhi then. Rooh Afza is manufactured by the companies founded by him and his kin.

The three manufacturers in the three different nations are -

·       Hamdard Laboratories, India

·       Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Pakistan

·       Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Bangladesh

Since 1948, the company has produced the product in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

an old advertisement poster

It is recorded that after the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, Majeed’s younger son left for Pakistan, where he set up a factory that would later flourish. The older brother, however, stayed back in India, producing the syrup there. After Bangladesh’s partition in 1971, the syrup found its way there too.

The drink has several natural cooling agents, following the Unani medicine recipe. It is popularly had for Iftar during Ramadan, and a more popular and newer recipe in Delhi now is “Mohabbat ka sharbat,” which means the sherbet of love, but Rooh Afza is a people’s favorite devoid of religion and borders.

Pakistani variant of packaging (image credits @Food52)

The concentrate used to be sold in glass bottles with a beautiful sticker of floral motifs all over them, but now the glass bottles have been phased out and cheaper plastic ones have become the norm. But the thick, sticky, jelly-like, bright red syrup inside stays the same, pointing at a beautiful and archaic relationship between the people whose souls it soothes.

Before the partition, syrup was enjoyed all over unpartitioned India; it is now enjoyed in the three different countries born later, in 1947 and 1971. The syrup has been around for a long time and has survived generations, preserved by tradition and a developed taste.

Its blood-like red color symbolizes the common hue of the blood of the soul, which is the same, as before the partitions. Despite the existing conflicts, it will always run red. Blood might not be thicker than water, but in a ridiculous and amusing analogy, Rooh Afza is the thickest, stickiest, and most binding there is, cherished across borders, rekindling the same emotion we all share, when a glass of chilled Rooh Afza drink is served on a hot sweltering, summer.