Day by day I float my paper boats one by one, down the running stream.
In bid black letters I write my name on them and the name of the village where I live.
I hope that someone in some strange land will find them and know who I am.
I load my little boats with shiuli flower from our garden, and hope that these blooms of the dawn will be carried safely to land in the night.
I launch my paper boats and look up into the sky and see the little clouds setting thee white bulging sails.
I know not what playmate of mine in the sky sends them down the air to race with my boats!
When night comes I bury my face in my arms and dream that my paper boats float on and on under the midnight stars.
The fairies of sleep are sailing in them, and the lading in their baskets full of dreams.
Paper Boats by,
Rabindranath Tagore.
I was very much carried away by the Paper Boat website. Couldn't believe someone has created a drink with a concept of bringing back childhood memories !
Paper Boat, much like the Tagore poem, claims to send these drinks, these culinary messages to those who have never tasted such concoctions. And of course to those, who long for the days gone by. Of homemade
Aamras, Jaljeera, Kokum, Aampanna, Kala Khatta and many other secret recipes.
Inspired by these famous lines….. four industry veterans Neeraj Kakkar, James Nutall, Suhas Misra and Neeraj Biyani coming from varied backgrounds, these Founding Fathers who are also nicknamed as The A-Team and Fantastic Four are the power behind ‘Paper Boat’.
Imli ka Amlana
A refreshing ale from the hills of Marwar, usually had a bowl of tasty khichda, the amlana is a testament of the region’s victories and
celebrations. A drink fit for the grandest of events, Imli ka Amlana offers to your palate something you thought was long gone - an
element of surprise. The tang of tamarind coupled with the
complimentary zest of cinnamon (and some other secret spices), this is the definitive sweet-sour (and spicy) ale for the centuries
Jaljeera
A hot summer day is magnified tenfold in India. The sun, once a trusted
ally, is now a vengeful god charring its antlike populace. Don’t worry
he’ll calm down in a while. But till he does, what respite does a mortal
have against the might of distant nuclear fusion of a main-sequence
star that constantly turns hydrogen into helium*? The answer descends
from the heavens in the form of Jaljeera - The perfect infusion of
cumin, lemon juice, black pepper and rock salt that functions both as an
electrolyte AND an appetizer. Perfect for those summer days, those
heavy meals, those elaborate family functions... Actually, you don’t
need a reason to drink Jaljeera, you just need to be.
Golgappe ka Pani
Nothing makes you stop in your tracks in a harried evening like the
sight of a Golgappewala (Or Panipuriwala. Or Phuchkawala. Or
Patashewala. The list goes on.) The very thought of a Golgappa can make
you salivate like you did the first time to had one. You couldn’t
believe yourself. You couldn’t believe that they could make food taste
like this. But they did. And we bring you the same Golgappe ka Pani.
Well, minus the aftermath of the gastrointestinal horrors that you might
or might not have faced.
Aam Panna
The pre-vacation between your actual summer vacation and the last day of
the final exams.The buffer time it took for your teachers to grade you,
to graduate you into another class. That was the window of The Kairi.
There was something poetic about raw, unfledged mangoes enticing our
fully formed taste buds. Like it was another fruit altogether. Mixed
with spices, mint and served cold, almost inversely to the soaring
temperatures outside. You gushed it down in a single gulp. But the
moment lingered forever.
Jamun Ka Khatta
Jamun Kala Khatta is not quite the Kala Khatta (of chemical Gola
stain fame) you grew up with... A paradox of sorts, this Kala Khatta,
dark purple and not black, dates all the way back to the year 100 AD.
Made at the peak of civilization, this drink was called Raga. And those
who had it, described it as music for the taste buds. (They also
described actual music as fragrance for the ear.)
Therapeutic as it is tasty, they say Kala Khatta can be used to cure a
host of ailments. (Hangovers? Certainly!) But don't take our word for
it. Try it out. Take a little swig. Fancy a gulp. Infer a chug. Who
knows? You might even describe it as a great novel for the nostrils.
Kokum
A berry belonging to the mangosteen family and largely indigenous to
the western ghats, Kokum is a specific affair. Seemingly made
exclusively for the South Asian palate (it grows nowhere else in the
world!), Kokum, with its unique zest, is certainly a taste to reckon
with. And eventually accept defeat to.
And the sherbet made from Kokum berries, a hint of cardamom, cumin
and sugarcane extract has been described as the reason why Ratna fell
and decided to name an entire district after the incident. But
Ratnagiri's dubious nomenclature aside, Kokum is a relaxant, an
anti-oxidant and an appetizer. So when you treat yourself
to Kokum, Kokum treats you back.
Aamras
During summer, there is barely a home in western India, be it Gujarat or
Rajasthan, that doesn’t partake in the festivity that is Aamras.
Sometimes, they have it with milk, sometimes rotis and if time and
patience allow, they even make sweets out of it. But the best way to go
about Aamras is to have it directly as is. The way the ancients
intended. Without preservatives or artificial flavour. Without frills or
hassles. An honest treat for an honest day’s work. A silkesque ale
cascading down your throat - Soothing, serenading and more importantly,
lingering. To remind you that the mango is indeed the true king of the
fruit realm. And that we cannot help but submit to its tasty tyranny.
My personal favorite is chilled Aam panna for this summer and for the kids its needless to say!! All are their favorite!
The Best part I like about the website is
Hope Floats
It is a lovely initiative to gift a bit of childhood to kids who really need it. For every Paper Boat you make, the paper boat people will give INR 20 to facilitate the education of an under-privileged child somewhere. All you have to do is make a simple paper boat, take its picture and upload it on their Facebook or Twitter page. This way you will help a child who is in need.
So quench your thirst with theses drinks which have a touch of tradition and memories!
