Denizens beat the heat with seasonal fruits & drinks

With soaring temperatures and scorching heat in the city for a few days now, denizens prefer seasonal fruits and drinks to stay cool. Tender coconut water, sugandhi water, buttermilk, lassie, and mosambi (sweet lime) juice are the conventional options. Whereas watermelon and cucumbers are much-loved preferences consumed as cut fruit pieces to prevent dehydration.

Watermelon, which is rich in vitamins and minerals, is a tasty way to beat the heat. Some like it simply cut into pieces while others sprinkle crushed spices on the cut fruit for some extra zing.

Pushcart vendors and temporary stalls selling various summer fruits and drinks have sprung up at various locations such as Mahatma Gandhi Road, Kaleswara Rao Market, Eluru Road, Kedareswarapeta, Gandhi Nagar, Bhavanipuram and Ajith Singh Nagar.

“A traditional health drink, sugandhi water helps the body stay energetic and cool for a few hours. It is prepared from the roots of the sugandhi plant. "The juice of sugandhi helps in the purification of blood. It acts as a cooling agent and helps prevent sunstroke and quick recovery from it.

A glass of sugandhi is enough to prevent sunstroke, says Koteswara Rao, who has been selling this drink for the past five years near Shivaji Café center, Satyanarayanapuram. A glass of sugnadhi juice is priced at Rs 10 to Rs 15. About 200 to 250 glasses will be sold per day during the season.

Majority of the people also takeaway the juice in convenient carry-home polythene pouches to sip them leisurely at home, he says. Meanwhile, the demand for tender coconut water is on the rise as it is believed to be nutritious and wholesome, doctors advise patients as well as others to consume this.

Manikanta, a vendor near Gandhi Nagar who has been running this business since the last two decades, says the water in it is unctuous and sweet, which promotes digestion and clears the urinary tract.

These coconuts imported from Kerala and Karnataka are larger in size and contain more water. The price of each tender coconut is Rs 25 and people do not mind shelling out that much as they consider it to be worth the price, he says.

“The cost has been increasing as it has become much sought after in the hot season. It was Rs 20 per piece in the last season and even less previously. However, we cannot stay without it,” says a customer named Ramana Rao.

“We get one load consisting of 8,000 tender coconuts every week. We sell at least 500 coconuts per day and as the temperature rises, even more coconuts will be sold. All five of our family members are busy in this business. After consuming the coconuts, customers also take some home,” says Manikanta.