A Hot Tale Of Varanasi Streets

It only seems like yesterday. It was summer which was vacation and childhood fun. Every summer, we used to travel to my grandparent's place in Varanasi (an old city in India ). The trip was always a fun ride packed with a lot of singing, dancing, and drinking Pepsi cola. Drinking Pepsi was a cool thing that summer of my 9th grade. It was not just a soda. Pepsi, the v channel, and Baywatch were part of pop culture. We even made popsicles and candies out of Pepsi flavor. It is altogether another story to tell.

Anyway, after arriving at my grandma’s place, we used to go straight to the “very holy ghats of River Ganges “. After some sightseeing and boat riding, I with my cousins used to run directly to the famous food street to eat all the food we could and not to mention to check out some guys. For me, any travel is incomplete without enjoying local food and local streets. They go hand in hand, and they make solid core memories.

I would have heard my mom talking many times, “ sugar cane juice is the best, we will all go and have delicious juice. It will help us beat the heat…..” soon she will be interrupted by my grandma …” oh never my grandkids will not have this street juice…."thandai" is what we drink, and it will give us instant energy we all need at this point”….you will always try to save money when it comes to my granddaughters eating ..” Their harmless bickering would go on, until we all have had arrived at the street.

We always began our food binging on the street with the infamous sugar cane juice, and the remaining of the family choose “thandai”. Ah! Not because I and my sister took sides with our mother or maybe we always did, who knows! I liked the juice because of other two legit reasons -firstly it was 100% natural and secondly it was only available on the streets. Those days it did not come in bottles nor can be made at home.

So peeps, let me tell you that sugarcane juice is the most drank, most common juice available in the hot summers of places like India. Apart from being a super hydrating drink with fewer calories, it is packed with many health benefits. It helps cure liver ailments, digestive sickness, cancer, and diabetes too. It is packed with immunity boosters, vitamins, and minerals.

Whereas, the “thandai “ is the drink of riches. I assure you it is not only heavier calorie-wise but is super addictive too. “Thandai “ in the Hindi language translates directly to “keeping cool”. It was a specialty of my grandma, and she always insisted everyone have it at every family gathering and festival.

She had a valid point as her drink was luxurious and equally laborious. Whereas sugarcane juice was simple. Simple as peel and crush. It is made by crushing the cane, but that kind of crushing equipment was not kept at home. Only the street vendors had them. Though the juice is simple, its flavor can be enhanced in many ways. Each flavor is a superfood in itself, full of health. Personally, my favorite is the one with crushed ice, a little ginger zest, and a dash of lemon. I also liked the one with mint extracts mixed with a pinch of black salt in my iced sugarcane juice.

On the contrary, “Thandai” is a very detailed beverage, and not to forget the amount of preparation it takes. It is a drink made of milk mixed with around 12 dry fruits or nuts like almonds, cashews, nutmegs, fennel seeds, poppy seeds, peppercorns seeds, cardamom seeds, saffron, pistachios, rose petals, sugar, and a few more spices plus or minus. All the nuts need peeling and soaking overnight. Then they are crushed or blended. The saffron-infused milk and rose petals are prepared separately. Lastly, everything mixed is chilled overnight. The perfect blend of spices is what makes it a healthy, aromatic, and refreshing coolant drink, though it can pass as a dessert under certain circumstances. Circumstances like ours and circumstances like pleasing your grandma on the streets of Varanasi. After thoroughly enjoying a variety of spicy savory street food, we used to have a cup of "thandai" as a dessert. Of Course only to please our grandma and not to digest all the spice and hotness we had engulfed that day.

You all know choosing a creamy milkshake over the 100% natural fat-free drink only makes sense when it's a matter of keeping your dadi (grandma) happy.

Now even after these many years, I fondly remember the taste of both beverages. Tangy-sweet sugarcane juice vs cool rich "Thandai" quibble is also equally fresh in my memory. It entices nothing but a feeling of home and a virtual refresh.

My grandma’s “thandai” is still a hit back home, still an equally famous beverage on the streets of Varanasi.

At the beginning of time, both drinks could only be found under beverages. In modern days like these, the "thandai" flavor is available in every form of cakes, mousse, and whatnot. Sugarcane juice is available in juice bars and bottles.

I will live and get to tell the tale of one very versatile mac and cheese dinner paired with a chilled sugarcane juice.