Rooh Afza is a proprietary sharbath that tastes somewhat like pan. It was started way back in 1906 in per-Independence India by a Unani practitioner. After partition, the family split. Now, Hamdard India and Hamdard Pakistan continue to producing the trademark red-coloured concentrated squash. I have seen its ads in my DoorDarshan days but not in the cable/dish era (when I had a remote).
One day, some years ago, I found it in a store and decided to try it. Wah! Wah! It tasted like Pan Pasand candy. After moving to Kerala, I could not find it in stores … until recently.
This bottle was made by Hamdard Pakistan. There have been reports in the press about non-availability of the drink from Hamdard India. I think it is being exported to Gulf countries without permission of the Indian manufacturer. Now, the only way to get a bottle is from the Pakistan branch via Dubai. Anyway, this is the only product I have from Pakistan. It is empty now. Summer is not over yet. The heat wave continues.
