Let me ask you something.
When was the last time a drink made you stop mid-sip and go, “Wait — why don’t we have this more often?”
Because honestly, summer wasn’t always about canned sodas or iced lattes.
There was a time — not too long ago — when the best way to beat the heat was tucked into simple, magical recipes passed down by grandmothers, temple priests, and roadside vendors who knew the real tricks to surviving a blazing afternoon.
And lucky for you (and me!), some of those old-school drinks are still around… just waiting for us to find them again.
Come, let’s take a little wander through India’s coolest, most deliciously underrated sips in summer:
Panakam: The Sweet Whisper of the South
Somewhere between a drink and a blessing, panakam is all jaggery sweetness, a tease of lemon, and a little kick of ginger. It’s like the South Indian version of a hug in a glass — warm, comforting, but somehow cooling at the same time.
“My amma swears by panakam in peak April,” says Divya Raman a student from Chennai, laughing. “She says it ‘sweetens even the worst heatwaves.'” Honestly? She’s onto something.
Kokum Sharbat: The Coastal Legend
Deep red, tangy, and ridiculously refreshing, kokum sharbat feels like it was invented by someone who really understood summer. If you’ve ever driven down the Konkan coast, you’ll know that no journey is complete without at least one icy glass sloshing in your hand.
“Kokum is like mischief, bottled and chilled,” grins Sameer Naik, a student studying filmmaker and loyal kokum fan. (We agree.)
Bela Pana: Odisha’s Floral Treasure
Imagine: jasmine flowers steeped in cool water, ripe bananas mashed just so, jaggery melting like sunshine, a hint of curd to bring it all together.
That’s bela pana — the drink version of a slow summer evening, where nothing rushes and everything smells faintly like dreams.
“Bela pana tastes best with ice,” sighs Preeti Mishra, a student studying literature and a poet and proud Odia. We believe her.
Gondhoraj Ghol: Bengal’s Breezy Secret
One whiff of a gondhoraj lemon and you’re done for — there’s no escaping it. Add it to creamy buttermilk, and you’ve got gondhoraj ghol — Bengal’s answer to happiness on a humid day.
“My dada used to take one sniff of gondhoraj lemon and would go right to nap,” Prajakta Das an entrepreneur from Kolkata tells us, chuckling. Honestly, after one glass, you’ll feel like napping too — in the best possible way.
Jigarthanda: Madurai’s Cold Firework
And finally, if you ever find yourself melting in Madurai’s heat, run, don’t walk, to the nearest jigarthanda stall.
Almond gum, chilled milk, nannari syrup, a secretive layer of sweetness — and boom! — a scoop of ice cream, soft and smiling on top. It’s a drink, it’s a dessert, it’s a full-blown celebration in a glass.
“You don’t drink jigarthanda,” says Arvind Krishnan, Madurai native. “You surrender to it. The best part about it is that its widely available where I’m from.”
So maybe this summer, skip the obvious. Forget the cans, the cartons, the same old choices.
Go find a little panakam. Hunt down some kokum. Let a gondhoraj lemon hijack your senses.
There’s a whole world of forgotten flavors out there — and it’s way cooler than a PRIME.