March 27, 2012
The market these days is flooded with numerous drinks that come in all shapes, sizes, colours and flavours. But none can match the fizz that comes with the once ubiquitous “goli soda”, which was the choicest drink of most Mangaloreans, for whom it was the only way to quench their thirst. Times have changed, and so do preferences of people and Goli Soda remains the favourite drink of some ‘old timers’ who are yet to get away from the joy they derive by pouring this carbon dioxide in their mouths directly from the bottle.
Those who are aware of those fun filled days of enjoying a bottle of soda and marveling the magic of finding the goli (marble) inside the bottle will be able to explain what it means to relish “Goli Soda”. Those were the hay days of Goli Soda (that was the only drink available those days) and every goodangadi had a crate of goli soda bottles.
Another advantage for us kids was the soda was available quite cheap, a few annas in the early 50’s. As young children whenever we used to get some loose change we used to go to the goodangadi and take delight in drinking the goli soda. More than drinking the soda pushing the marble down the bottle either with a wooden device with a projection or with the strength of our middle finger and listening to that sound of carbon dioxide escaping from the bottle gave us a high. As children we often wondered how the goli (marble) had gone inside the bottle and we had even tried all sorts of tricks to pull the marble out of the bottle, unsuccessfully.
Even drinking this soda from the bottle was quite a formidable task for us as the marble often blocked the free flow of liquid into our mouths. Only later I discovered that there is one angle in which the marble stays in its place without blocking the free flow of liquid. People could choose from five varieties of soda namely ginger soda, orange soda, Nannari soda, (sweet cola with the root of a plant for flavor) and chappe soda (unsweetened). I still remember after a heavy meal at functions a ginger soda was a must to many in the nearest goodangadi on their way back home as they believed it would facilitate proper digestion.
Over the years the good old Goli Soda has witnessed a steady decline in demand and is almost on the verge of extinction unable to face stiff competition from other drinks. There are hardly any new customers for the drink as today’s youngsters are not attracted by this simple man’s drink, say Deena and Jayaraj Anchan, who manage ‘Vasantha Soda Sadan”, at Marnamikatta. “Only some locals and those old customers who come from Mumbai or Gulf and know about Goli Soda come to our shop asking for it. Otherwise the demand has declined steadily. Now my husband goes to the line only once in his cycle supplying a few bottles to petty shops in and around Jeppu Bappal, Marnamikatta and surrounding areas”, Deena says.
Jayananda who had set up the shop at Marnamikatta along with his elder brother had a good business which enabled him to provide English-medium education to their three children and manage a family of five from the income generated from the soda business. But now he has shifted to other drinks like Rasna, punarpuli, Badam drink along with Goli Soda. “I now prepare only about 25 bottles of soda every day and supply to a few lines in this area. Ginger soda is sold at 2.50 paisa and chappe soda at Rs. 2 per bottle to the shops who may sell it to a price of their choice.
There was a time when Jayananda Anchan was too busy catering to the demands and had appointed four workers in his shop. “We used to supply soda to Platinum theatre at least four times a day as there was a great demand after every show got over”, Deena recalls. Though soda sale had come down drastically over the last two decades it was the closure of arrack shops (sharabu angadi) that had mushroomed every nook and corner of Mangalore, which sounded the death knell of goli soda. With the vanquished demand for soda Deena and Jayananda had to opt for preparing other drinks and also sell local drinks like Bajal, Joy and Bicco Joy.
Jayananda has a machine where three bottles of soda can be made at a time. He fills the cleaned bottles with water and required essence and sweetener. The machine is connected to a cylinder of carbon dioxide (co2) and the handle had to be turned for a number of times to get the soda. Once that is done the handle is turned to the opposite direction so that the marble comes up and seals the bottle automatically. Once sealed these bottles of soda can remain so for a long time.
Near Nandigudda crematorium there was one Narayana who used to supply Goli Soda to quench the thirst of those who came for funerals. After his death some people who come to the crematorium have started coming to Naveen Soda Sadan to get a feel of the old habit of drinking good old Goli Soda.
Anchan Soda near Mallikatta is one among the very few remaining shops where Goli Soda is manufactured. They manufafture only Ginger Soda and supply to Shivbhag, Kulshekar, Yeyyadi and KSRTC bus stand areas. They manufacture about 125 bottles a day and also supply cap soda and other drinks under “Anchan” brnd name to their supply line. Proprietor Vasappa Anchan says “for long we have been thinking of closing this unit as it is running under loss. Many shops have stopped manufacturing it because it is not economical”.
Now it is even difficult to find good quality Goli Soda bottles. Jayananda used to get it from Ramdas Company in Hampankatta. But now only second hand bottles given by shops which have stopped manufacturing or selling soda are available. Anchan recalls that earlier there used to be German bottles which were sturdy and large. But now they have become a collector’s item.
How long Goli Soda will be able to elongate its life is difficult to tell. There was a time when Goli soda used to sell like hot cakes during Koti Chennayya Jaathree or during Karkala church festival. To draw the attention of the customers the wooden opener of the Goli Soda used to be fixed with cycle tube piece to give that unique whistling sound. Those days when ice box and fridge was unaffordable to petty shops these soda bottles were kept in a clay pot with water to make them cool and these clay pots were specially manufactured by tile companies of Mangalore for this purpose.
For those whose childhood memories are linked to the Goli Soda they enjoyed in Mangalore, it is time they make a beeline to the nearby soda shops selling Goli Soda during their next trip to Mangalore , now that it is an endangered drink.