Watermelon in my sharbat at Madurai roadside shops

Experience the refreshing flavors of watermelon sharbat and other summer drinks at Madurai's vibrant roadside shops.

On summer afternoons, the city’s roadsides are often seen with colourful bottles of sharbat syrups lined up, while vendors are busy mixing and offering glasses of sharbat to thirsty customers without pause.

Near Pasumalai arch, B Tamil Selvi and her mother have been running a small sharbat shop for about seven years. “Once summer begins, especially after March, we will be extremely busy,” she says, adding: “Though many new summer drinks come to the market, the traditional sharbat is still enjoyed by many people,” she adds.

Madurai-based Chef T. Gautam Venkat traces the origins of the sharbat drink to Madurai. “Several years ago, people in the Middle East introduced the sharbat drink to keep themselves cool and hydrated in the hot and humid weather. This tasty drink was originally made with rose petals and a mix of fruits like oranges and mangoes, etc, along with chia seeds as a main ingredient.”

He explains, how the drink has travelled across regions. “With the movement of trade, sharbat slowly finds a place in India.

Tamil Selvi recalls how sharbat was made in those days, “Earlier, people made sharbat syrup by themselves by soaking roots of the nannari plant for hours, and it was strained, then the mix was boiled along with a lemon slice and palm sugar or jaggery. After extracting the syrup, they made the drink, which was then stored in mud pots to keep it cool. Back then, to enjoy chilled beverages, people stored them in mud pots. But now we easily get sharbat syrup,” she says, smiling.

David offers refreshing watermelon sharbat at The Madura College, Madurai. | Photo Credit: MOORTHY G