Rooh Afza, With Love (and Ice cubes)

In this episode of That’s the Thing, Jimmy, Kavya, and Atharva trace the story of a drink that’s as familiar as the fridge door you were scolded for leaving open. Rooh Afza—part Unani medicine, part summer memory—has travelled from 1906 Delhi to iftar tables, school holidays, and millions of kitchen shelves across South Asia..

You know the scene. The fan is on full. The kids are back from the sun, dusty and loud. Someone’s yelling about a sixer. Someone’s sprawled under the fan. The fridge opens—too long.

Inside is a jug of Rooh Afza. Cold. Pink. Just sweet enough.

In 1906, in the blistering heat of Delhi, Hakim Hafiz Abdul Majeed crafted a syrup to cool the body against the loo —the dry, hot gusts of North Indian summers. A Unani antidote. Herbal. Fragrant. Fortifying. His wif ...