Rooh Afza

This article is about the drink. For the 2021 Hindi film, see Roohi Afza.

Rooh Afza
TypeConcentrated herbal, Squash (drink)
InventorHakim Hafiz Abdul Majeed
Inception1906; 118 years ago (1906)
ManufacturerHamdard India, Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Pakistan, Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Bangladesh
AvailableIndian subcontinent
SloganDrink of the East

Rooh Afza (Urdu: روح افزا; Hindi: रूह अफ़ज़ा; Bengali: রূহ আফজা; lit. 'Soul Refresher') is a South Asian drink which is a concentrated squash.[1] It was formulated in 1906 by Hakim Abdul Hameed[2] and introduced by Hakim Hafiz Abdul Majeed,[3][4][5] and launched from Old Delhi, British India. Currently, Rooh Afza is manufactured by the companies founded by him and his sons, including Hamdard India (the parent company), as well as Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Pakistan and Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Bangladesh. Since 1948, the company has been manufacturing the product in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.[3]

Other companies formulate the same un-patented recipe in these countries as well. The specific Unani recipe of Rooh Afza combines several ingredients popularly believed to be cooling agents, such as rose, which is used as a remedy for loo (the hot summer winds of Northern India and Pakistan and Bangladesh). The drink is commonly associated with the month of Ramadan, in which it is usually consumed during iftar. It is sold commercially as a syrup to flavour sherbets, cold milk drinks, ices, and cold desserts such as the popular falooda.[6] The name Rooh Afza is sometimes translated as "refresher of the soul".[7] It is said that this name was made up by the original formulator of the drink, with possible cultural influences.[8][3]

  1. ^ Raza, Syed Qasim (19 May 2018). "Rooh Afza: the eternal elixir of the east". Aurora. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  2. ^ "In British India, Rooh Afza lovers rejoice as the drink returns to shelves in time for Ramadan". Qrius. 11 May 2019. Archived from the original on 7 August 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Family Rift Behind Disappearance of Favourite Summer Drink Rooh Afza, But Company Denies Archived 7 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine NEWS 18 INDIA website, Published 9 May 2019, Retrieved 4 May 2020
  4. ^ [1] Archived 7 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine[2] Archived 26 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine Introduction-history Hamdard Rooh Afza
  5. ^ "How Hamdard's Ruby-Hued Refresher Became an Indian Summer Staple". The Better India. 8 May 2019. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  6. ^ H. Panda (2004), Handbook on Ayurvedic Medicines with Formulae, Processes and Their Uses, National Institute of Industrial Research, ISBN 81-86623-63-9, ... When we keep in mind the many qualities Rooh Afza's ingredients described above, it is easy to understand why it has been found to be an exceptionally appropriate summer drink ...[permanent dead link‍]
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Rooh Afza History English". www.roohafzabd.com. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2017.