 Rooh Afza logo | |
| Type | Concentrated herbal,Squash (drink) |
|---|---|
| Inventor | Hakim Hafiz Abdul Majeed |
| Inception | 1906; 119 years ago (1906) |
| Manufacturer | Hamdard India,Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Pakistan,Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Bangladesh |
| Available | Indian subcontinent |
| Slogan | Drink of the East |
Rooh Afza (Urdu:روح افزا;Hindi:रूह अफ़ज़ा;Bengali:রূহ আফজা;lit. 'Soul Refresher') is a drink which is aconcentratedsquash.[1] It was formulated and introduced in 1906 inDelhi by Hakim Hafiz Abdul Majeed.[2][3][4][5] Currently, Rooh Afza is manufactured by the companies founded by him and his sons, includingHamdard India (the parent company), as well asHamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Pakistan andHamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Bangladesh. Since 1948, the company has been manufacturing the product inIndia,Pakistan andBangladesh.[3]
Other companies formulate the same un-patented recipe in these countries as well. The specificUnani recipe of Rooh Afza combines several ingredients popularly believed to be cooling agents, such as rose, which is used as a remedy forloo (the hot summer winds of Northern India and Pakistan and Bangladesh). The drink is commonly associated with the month ofRamadan, in which it is usually consumed duringiftar. It is sold commercially as a syrup to flavoursherbets, cold milk drinks, ices, and cold desserts such as the popularfalooda.[6] The nameRooh Afza is sometimes translated as "refresher of the soul".[7] It is said that this name was made up by the original formulator of the drink, with possible cultural influences.[8][3]
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Rooh Afza was founded by Hamdard's founder Hakim Hafiz Abdul Majeed inOld Delhi,British India. In 1906, he wanted to create aherbal mix that would help Delhi's people stay cool in the summer. He selected herbs and syrups from traditionalUnani medicine and created a drink that would help counter heat strokes and prevent dehydration in people. An artist, Mirza Noor Ahmad, designed the labels of Rooh Afza in many colours in 1910. Progress in development and refining the original recipe continued all along until the final drink emerged.[3]
After Majeed's death 15 years later, his wife Rabea Begum established a charitable trust in the name of herself and her two sons.[9]
Following thepartition of India in 1947, while the elder son,Hakim Abdul Hameed, stayed in independentIndia – the younger son,Hakim Mohammad Saeed, migrated to the newly created state ofPakistan on 9 January 1948 and started a separate Hamdard Company from two rooms in theArambagh area ofKarachi.[3][7]Hamdard Pakistan finally became profitable in 1953. Hakim Mohammad Said had opened a branch of Hamdard in the formerEast Pakistan. According toHakim Mohammad Said's daughter,Sadia Rashid, chairperson ofHamdard Pakistan in 2019, her father gifted the business to the people ofBangladesh after theirindependence from Pakistan in 1971.[3]
In 2010, chefNita Mehta and Indian film actressJuhi Chawla were hired for promotional activities byHamdard Laboratories to create new mocktail and dessert recipes for Rooh Afza, their all-season summer drink, which was used in a new marketing campaign.[10]
Its original formulation included:[11]
Rooh Afza syrup is generally served mixed with cold milk or water and ice. Rooh Afza is often prepared as part ofIftar (the evening meal for breaking the fast orroza), duringRamadan.[12] The concentrate can also be mixed with water, which is a common preparation in the hot South Asian summers. When mixed with water, the final drink is a type ofsharbat. Rooh Afza syrup is often mixed withKulfi ice cream andvermicelli to make a similar version of the popular Iranian dessertFaloodeh.
On the complaint of false information,misleading advertisements and publication of false information on the web site, Safe Food Inspector Kamrul Hassan filed a case against Hamdard Laboratories Bangladesh on May 30, 2018. In the case, he mentions that the information published in the advertisement with 'Rooh Afza made with 35 fruit juice' is not correct.[13] On June 12 of the same year, Pure food court judge AFM Maruf Chowdhury fined the company fourlakhstaka for publishing misleading advertisements. If unable to pay the fine, then theHamdard chairman and managing director would be punished for three months' imprisonment.[14]
In 2025,Baba Ramdev'sPatanjali Foods Limited circulated advertisements alleging Rooh Afza to promote "sharbat jihad" i.e underminingHindu culture & fosteringMuslim takeover of the land by construction ofmosques &madrasas by the beverage'sMuslim owners (as acts of charity) financed by the sales of the beverage raised fromHindus.[15][16] Hamdard India filed adefamation case in theDelhi High Court against Patanjali, which ordered that the advertisements be immediately pulled down.[17]
Hamdard Laboratories India has launched two ready to drink variants in India namely RoohAfza Fusion and RoohAfza Milkshake.[18][19][20][21]
In Pakistan, one of the ready-to-drink variants, called the Rooh Afza Go,[22] is available in a can form. In addition a drink commonly prepared by parents for kids in Pakistan, is now available as a product from Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Pakistan, called the Doodh (milk) Rooh Afza.[23] It is essentially Rooh Afza flavored milk, packaged in a 225ml milk carton.
... When we keep in mind the many qualities Rooh Afza's ingredients described above, it is easy to understand why it has been found to be an exceptionally appropriate summer drink ...[permanent dead link]
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