Banta Soda, or Banta (Hindi: बंटा), also Goli Soda (Tamil: கோலி சோடா) or Goti Soda or Chimp Goli Soda and Fotash Jawl, is a popular carbonated lemon or orange-flavoured soft drink sold in India since the late 19th century in a distinctly shaped iconic Codd-neck bottle. The pressure created by the carbonated liquid seals the bottle by forcing a glass marble up into the neck of the bottle where it snugly locks into a rubber gasket. Opening the bottle by pressing on the marble thus releasing the pressurised gas is seen to be a fun experience. In Delhi, it is also called the kanchay waali drink or nimbu soda. Fotash Jawl is the Bengali name for this drink.

History

The Codd-neck bottle, named after its inventor Hiram Codd who patented it in 1872, was specially designed for lemonade and fizzy beverages. The bottles, which soon became popular throughout the British Empire, are nowadays still in production for two countries exclusively: in India for banta and in Japan for . Since children often smashed the bottles to get to the marble inside, old Codd-neck bottles are cherished collector's items. Until the 1900s, when the manufacturing of these bottles started in India, the bottles were imported from Britain. Prior to India's independence in 1947, the bottles were banned in several cities during the Indian independence movement as the Indian freedom fighters added chuna (calcium hydroxide) to the soda bottles for making improvised mini cannons.

Soda bottling units

During the bottling process, a chemical flavouring agent known as Lemon No. 1 by International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) is added. The agent is also used in ice cream and by the pharmaceutical industry. In 1970s, Chennai had 150 goli soda bottling units in the unorganised sector which had dropped to 50 by 2018.

Spark Premium Codd Soda introduced the first premium branded goli soda in Telangana. Mohammed Abdul Khader, who started manufacturing Spark Goli Soda in 2019 says it took him two years to get into selling business-to-business. On the disappearance of goli soda, he says, "One factor was the traditional filling system. It was cumbersome and needed a lot of manpower. The expensive production method contributed to its disappearance. After the development of new semi-automatic filling machines with modern technology. it made a comeback."

See also

  • Shikanjvi
  • List of Indian drinks

Notes

References

  • Banta Soda in popular culture.