The Thunderbolt Kid and Paneer Soda

So i picked up The life and times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson yesterday. As always brilliantly written, unputdownable, bringing a brilliant perspective on growing up in the rampant consumeristic market that was the post WW2 USA. A constant refrain is that he might have been one of the last generation to actually see diversity, independence rather than the uniformity which is found in this day.

"Happily," Bryson writes, "we were indestructible. We didn't need seat belts, air bags, smoke detectors, bottled water, or the Heimlich maneuver. We didn't require child-safety caps on our medicines. We didn't need helmets when we rode our bikes or pads for our knees and elbows when we went skating. We knew without a written reminder that bleach was not a refreshing drink and that gasoline when exposed to a match had a tendency to combust. We didn't have to worry about what we ate because nearly all foods were good for us: sugar gave us energy, red meat made us strong, ice cream gave us healthy bones, coffee kept us alert and purring productively."

Growing up in Madras in the 1980s, I was amazed at how many of my childhood experiences closely mirror Brysons observations. Hot muggy afternoons with not much to do. Parents who really were not overprotective. Tv with very few channels. Loads of comics. Eyes being opened to books. The occasional visit out to watch a movie. and on and on.

One of the observations which really hit home was the lack of standardisation in the products and brands out there. A telling example was Nehi soda, a sort of liquid bubbling acidic concoction the way he puts it, the bubbles whizzing up your nose. And you know what i could taste it, I know exactly what he was talking about. 30 years and a lot of miles separates us but i still got what he meant.

Any kid who would have grown up in Madras(Chennai), India in the 1980s would know exactly what i was talking about. The drink was called paneer soda (not the cottage cheese from up north but literally meant soda flavoured with rose essence.Premium commodity this or so we were told). A heavy chunky green bottle (in a fight with a Coke/Pepsi bottle a paneer soda bottle would pulverize a ton of them for a midnight snack) with a kink in the throat. Also called goli soda (there can be huge arguments on whether paneer soda is indeed goli soda, but they were the same for me...so there). Goli stood for marbles the kind you played with, this was what was used to seal the bottle. Breaking it open was a delicious ritual itself. Put a finger or a thumb on the goli and hit the finger hard, wrong angle could break your finger but the right angle produced a delightful sounding "phat" a fizz and a plop (the goli settling in the kink).

And the drink itself would pretty much burn its way down your throat, find ways of escaping while doing so. All possible escape routes were explored, from up the nose, to going up to the brain, freezing it in the process, and make its way out through the ears. You would gasp for breath, make sure the goli wasnt blocking the way and do it all over again. Fairly masochistic. And there were millions of kids around me doing the same.

Was trying to remember whether i glimpsed the paneer soda bottle which would line the shelves of any potti kadai (literally a shop the size of a small box) the last time I was home. Dont really think so, was all pretty much bottles of kinley/Coke etc etc. Madras is one of those cities which doesnt give up so easy, am sure there are paneer soda bottles out there and on my next visit am going to get some!!!!

Happily enough i googled paneer soda while writing this and i believe the paneer soda is a registered trademark, how bout that?
http://www.facebook.com/s.php?ref=search&init=q&q=paneer+soda&sid=9f8146bc0ad80cf8f90473f5272a22e6#/pages/Paneer-Soda/41374158804?sid=9f8146bc0ad80cf8f90473f5272a22e6&ref=s is the link to the facebook fan page for paneer soda

There must be hundreds of similar rituals in my boyhood and am determined to put down as many as possible before i lose all my grey cells.

Coming Soon: Early morning milk runs :)