You know that moment when you walk into your house after being out in the sun, clothes sticking, face all sweaty, and the only thing you want in life is something fizz and fun ?
For me, that’s the moment when a cold drink feels like heaven in a glass. It’s funny how one sip can make everything okay again — the heat, the traffic, the exhaustion, all gone for a few seconds.
At our house, there’s this unspoken rule — no Sunday lunch is complete without a soda bottle on the table. My dad calls it his “post-biryani refreshment.” I do not know how that tradition started, but it has been there for as long as I can remember.
Sometimes it is just plain soda with lemon and salt, sometimes it’s one of those fizzy drinks we pick up on offers. Either, it is a little thing that somehow makes the meal feel whole.
But lately, I’ve been switching things up a bit. Maybe it’s age or just too many “no sugar” warnings from my mom, but I’ve started reaching for juices instead of soda.
Not the fancy imported ones — just the regular Indian ones. Fresh orange juice from the corner stall, sugarcane juice on the way back from college, or sometimes those homemade aam panna bottles my nani used to make. There’s something about those desi flavors — tangy, sweet, sometimes uneven — that feels like childhood bottled up.
The other day, I was sitting with my friends after a long day at work, and someone ordered sodas for everyone. I quietly asked for a non-aerated drink instead. The guy looked at me like I had committed some crime. “Bro, it’s just soda!” he said. But honestly, I didn’t feel like having anything fizzy that day. I went for a chilled watermelon juice instead, and no regrets — it was refreshing, natural and didn’t make me burp through half the evening (which is always a bonus).
So whether it’s cold drinks, soda, juices, or a simple non-aerated drink, it’s not really about the glass. It’s about that small joy it brings, that tiny break from all the rush. And if you ever feel like stocking up for those moments, you’ll probably find me at Aap Ka Bazar, standing near the drinks section, trying to decide between a fizzy soda and a fruity juice — and smiling, because honestly, both taste like memories.
