"Yere yere paavsa, Tula deto paisa, Paisa zala khota, Pavus aala mota.." meaning rain rain come again, will give you a coin, the coin became fake, but rains just started to pour.. This was my favorite Marathi rhyme in childhood.
Being a Goan at heart, I used to wait for the 6th of June(onset of monsoons). The road outside my house in my village would be flooded with water. Me, my brother and cousins would make small paper boats and would stand on top of the gate of the house and immerse the pape rboats in the water. Just seeing them go would make us happy. Some would sink on the way and our faces would go sad, but some of them would go really far away and we would be happy that our boats went away.
Gone are those days and those times... Memories never fade. Today after I received the Paper boat drinks from the courier guy. I was excited when I opened the box. It had colourful pouches of drinks in flavours of Aamras, Aam Panna, Jamun Kala khatta and Jaljeera. I first tried Jaljeera and immediately I went into a flashback of the past... Swinging on the swings under the bettlenut trees in my backyard. After returning home from play Mom would serve me with Jaljeera " Behind every successful drink, is a memory".
My uncle would go and get mangoes from our farms. The mangoes would come home in truck loads. They used to be stored in one separate room under dried hay so that they would ripen soon. Some of the mangoes would be distributed to the daughters of our house, to close friends and relatives. My mom and aunts would sit in a round circle making pickles, aamras and aampanna...
The games we played. Lagori which we played during the summer vacations, tic tac toe, name place animal thing... opps I can never forget those days.
We grew up. We looked back.
“A simpler time”, we said, a bit wistfully.
We looked back, wanted to touch it.
Reached out for it; longed for it.
We looked back, and we looked around.
And there were no evil bosses, just characters from a comic book.
No notes during dull presentations, just incomprehensible doodles
No traffic, just nameless faces with complex back-stories
No bad assessments, just report cards to be hidden
No cricket match to be missed, just a stomach-ache to be feigned.
Life was so beautiful
Paper boat maybe new on paper but it’s run by industry veterans. Their directors come from varied backgrounds. The founders are Neeraj Kakkar, James Nutall, Suhas Misra and Neeraj Biyani. Together, they are the Mount Rushmore of Hector. The A-Team. The Fantastic Four.
Every paper boat drink is not just a drink. These drinks actually tells us a story. Like I went into a flashback of the past while drinking these drinks.
Aamras:
An honest treat for an honest day’s work. A silkesque ale cascading down your throat - Soothing, serenading and more importantly, lingering. To remind you that the mango is indeed the true king of the fruit realm.
Contains 45% of mango pulp, little bit of sugar and little bit of water. Along with that it contains citric acid, ascorbic acid, natural and nature-identical flavouring substances.
Jaljeera:
The perfect infusion of cumin, lemon juice, black pepper and rock salt that functions both as an electrolyte AND an appetizer. Perfect for those summer days, those heavy meals, those elaborate family functions... Actually, you don’t need a reason to drink Jaljeera, you just need to be.
Contains 8% of lemon, little bit of sugar and little bit of water. Along with that it contains citric acid, and natural flavouring substances.
Jamun kala khatta:
Jamun Kala Khatta is not quite the Kala Khatta (of chemical Gola stain fame) you grew up with... A paradox of sorts, this Kala Khatta, dark purple and not black, dates all the way back to the year 100 AD. Made at the peak of civilization, this drink was called Raga. And those who had it, described it as music for the taste buds. Therapeutic as it is tasty, they say Kala Khatta can be used to cure a host of ailments.
Contains lots of jamun, some spices and condiments, little bit of sugar and little bit of water. Along with that it contains lemon, citric Acid, ascorbic acid, pectin, de-ionized apple juice concentrate, natural and nature-identical flavoring substances.
Kokum:
A berry belonging to the mangosteen family and largely indigenous to the western ghats, Kokum is a specific affair. Seemingly made exclusively for the South Asian palate (it grows nowhere else in the world!), Kokum, with its unique zest, is certainly a taste to reckon with.
The sherbet made from Kokum berries, a hint of cardamom, cumin and sugarcane extract has been described as the reason why Ratna fell and decided to name an entire district after the incident.
Contains 20% kokum,little bit of sugar and little bit of water.
Lemon juice concentrate and ascorbic acid (which is basically Vitamin C) are naturally occurring additives. They are added in minuscule quantities to the drinks to ensure that the drinks are safe for direct consumption. They help to lower the pH level of the drinks which in turn prevent the growth of harmful pathogens and keeps the drink pouches safe.
Paper Boat drinks are free of preservatives and artificial flavours.
Paper Boat pouches are made of a four-part laminate. The two outer layers are a blend of proprietary polypropylene and polyethylene. This makes the pack withstand extremes in pressure and heat while at the same time being easy to print upon. This is the one time you can actually judge something by its cover.
The penultimate layer is made of bonded aluminium. This is to keep any form of moisture and vapour entering the pack and tampering the goodness of the drink inside. Of course this layer makes no contact with the drink. That’s the job of the inner (and final) layer. This layer is made of virgin, food-grade polypropylene which keeps the content fresh, safe and tasty.
What I liked the most about paper boat is their website where I could spend a day just reading and remembering my childhood days. I liked each of the drinks, but my personal favorites are Jaljeera and Aampanna. I prefer to drink the juice as it is, right from the pouch without pouring it in glass. After finishing off the drink, I even checked for the last drop and blew some air in and out of the pouch :) I actually did what I used to do as a child. My husband loved the Jamun kala khatta and my little one loved aamras and aampanna.
Next month is my little one's birthday party and I am thinking of including one pouch of paper boat drink in the return gifts items set. I am sure every child will love them and the parents too will feel that I gave a healthier gift for their child instead of the regular frooti and maaza pouches.
If they make the pouch shape like a boat with the cap on top of the sail, it would look more appealing :)
If they make the pouch shape like a boat with the cap on top of the sail, it would look more appealing :)
Paper boat will be coming up with more drinks like Imli ka aamlana, nimbu paani and many more.
Priced at Rs.30/- for 250 ml, these paper boat drinks will be available at all the leading superstores across India.
Visit their website: http://paperboatdrinks.com/
Join them on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paperboatdrinks
Note: This is not a paid review. All the opinions expressed here are my own.