Good old Goli Soda and Goli colours!

Recently, when I stopped at a neighbourhood juice shop, I noticed—to my utter surprise and disbelief—a crate of Bantas, which we call in Tamil Goli Soda. I immediately cancelled the order I had given for a glass of grape juice and told the shopkeeper to give me a bottle of Banta Orange instead.

Before the arrival of Fanta Orange, the sister drink of Coca-Cola, I used to relish Banta Orange. Those were my Kanchipuram days, when I used to worship Goli Sodas as if they were holy devas. Among the three types of flavours, I always went for the orange.

Rustic Origins and Thriving Shops

Bantas were not made in sophisticated factories; they were made under thatched roofs in a homely style by rustic hands. In Addisonpet and Rangasami Kulam of Kanchipuram, there existed a row of big shops selling Bantas. Rows and rows of colourful bottles were displayed on multi-storied shelves. In the summer, the very sight of them used to quench half our thirst.

The day’s business in these shops hit the roof when crowds of people, coming out of nearby cinema theatres, descended on them with parched throats. Even a dozen hands employed by these shops were not enough to manage the thirsty, impatient customers. The air used to fill with the sound of bottles being popped open and the "whooshes" of $CO_2$ released from the necks of the Bantas.

The Art of the Pop

The cost of these delicious drinks was as low as an Anna (six paise) a bottle. Bantas dominated the shops until the Kali Mark people introduced soft drinks in capped bottles resembling the Delhi monument, the Qutub Minar.

Normally, Bantas were opened with a wooden, circular, cap-like contrivance, but during crowded times, the employees opened them with just their thumbs. They would deftly insert their thumb or index finger into the bottle's mouth and push the marble down the bottle’s throat. I used to wonder how their thumbs withstood such harsh treatment repeatedly; many of the workers in those soda shops had permanently swollen thumbs. Brash youths of those days even used to open their bottles with their tongues to impress by-standing girls!

A Midnight Refreshment

Even when you returned at the dead of night from "second shows" (as night shows were called back then), you wouldn't be disappointed. These Banta shops remained wide open to relieve the thirst that developed during the final climax fight scenes between titans like MGR and Nambiar.

I still remember the Bantas as they lay immersed in crates filled with water to keep them cool. Apart from the three main flavours, these shopkeepers used to keep a few bottles of Ginger Beer for people with stomach problems.