In the midst of Vellore’s unforgiving summer heat, a familiar scene plays out as outdoor work turns intolerable. The sound of a sprightly pop marks the end of a desperate thirst, as pent-up fizz gushes out of the uniquely designed glass bottle. The colourful juice goes down in loud and rapid gulps, leaving way only for a sigh of relief to escape. With the bottle emptied and the thirst quenched, the heat suddenly becomes bearable, and work can go on.
“It is the satisfaction!” exclaimed Mohana Krishnan, the third-generation proprietor of Kannan and Co. Goli Soda, which is marching towards its 100th year. “This is what keeps us going even after so long. People liking our goli soda [which gets its name from the marble cork in the bottle] is enough motivation for us. A person tasted it again after 73 years and said it had the same quality,” he said.
