FNB News - Hamdard forays into 'ready to drink' with RoohAfza Fusion and Milkshake | FNB News". www.fnbnews.com . Retrieved 17 June 2020. He understood that if you create a habit in them, they’ll carry it for life. Rooh Afza would become their brand.”

We make the drink in big cauldrons and tumblers and keep drinking it between iftar and suhoor. We have a family of 12 and we finish up to four to five bottles in a week, my children, nieces and nephews like it. I add mangoes, lemon juice and even milk,” Ms Begum said. Both millennials and baby boomers are aware of this beverage, and they all have distinct perspectives on it. But the point is that we all grew up with Rooh Afza, and it has since become a significant part of our life. Rooh Afza was created by Hakim Hafiz Abdul Majeed, a traditional healing practitioner in the congested quarters of Old Delhi in 1907. The syrup was meant to be a cure for heat stroke, dehydration and diarrhoea. Manik also shared that the anti-imperialist movement was a factor too in popularising the drink. When the British used to have wine in different gatherings, Muslims would refrain. From the anti-imperialist idealism, Hakeem Abdul Majeed wanted a colourful drink that would be India's own.The high sugar content in Rooh Afza can have various negative health issues, particularly for those who consume it regularly, such as: Food color: Rooh Afza uses various food colors to provide a distinct appearance. You will learn about these colors below.

Some credit behind this myth also goes to its name that sounds Arabic. However, the name "Rooh Afza" actually just means "soul refresher" in Urdu. The syrup is typically mixed with water, milk, or yoghurt to create a refreshing drink, and it is also used as an ingredient in various desserts and dishes. A stall in Old Delhi sells a distinctive Rooh Afza preparation made with milk and watermelon. It's called Sharbat-e-Mohabbat or the drink of love. Rabia Begum’s younger son, Mohammed Said, was inspired by the Muslim League, a political party advocating for the separate Muslim state of Pakistan and freedom from British colonial rule. He wanted to become a journalist, but his older brother Abdul Hameed convinced him to study medicine. In 1940, as the Muslim League was passing a resolution demanding independence, Mohammed Said graduated with a degree in eastern medicine. By 1948, while his brother remained at the helm of the company in India, Said migrated to Pakistan, with the plan to set up Hamdard there too. He brought with him his father’s formula for Rooh Afza. Two advertisements for Rooh Afza from the Illustrated Weekly of India, from 1977 (left) and 1980. Both seem to refer to competitors and stress that there is ‘nothing like’ Rooh Afza [Al Jazeera]

What is Rooh Afza

You want to know the business secret? Hamdard does two kinds of business: it sells to the public, and it does business with Allah,” he says. As an Islamic trust, profits are channelled into education, healthcare and charity. Mansoor Ali, chief sales and marketing officer at Hamdard Laboratories (India), reiterated the drink’s popularity. He said: “If you look at its [Rooh Afza] growth, it is 20 per cent year-on-year, which is pretty phenomenal when you consider that the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry itself is growing in single digits.” Mohammad Ishrat nods in agreement with Ms Begum. The 28-year-old lives in the old part of the city and is a regular visitor to the mosque for iftar. Saleem Khan, who sells the drink in Old Delhi to feed his family of seven, told Al Jazeera that business has gone down. Remember that weight loss doesn’t depend on one specific food or drink but on your overall diet and level of physical activity. Final words

But after preparing the drink all day, at least one vendor admits he doesn't really care for Rooh Afza. And he's not alone. A student of Noakhali Textile Engineering College, Fahim seconded him and said, "It's not the same thing I used to have when I was a kid." Despite the introduction of colas and carbonated drinks, Rooh Afza’s popularity has not been shaken.Furthermore, when sodium benzoate is mixed with vitamin C, it is transformed into benzene(a carcinogenic substance). This substance is highly toxic, mutagenic, and teratogenic [3].