From the glory days of Pindi’s famed beverage shop

A glass of ice-cold lassi or milk soda can seem no less than a blessing in the sweltering summer heat when the sun blazes down on the city and temperatures rise to a record high. Which is why streets and marketplaces across Rawalpindi and Islamabad can be seen abuzz with cold beverage stalls selling a variety of milkshakes, juices, sodas and lassis in this torrid season.

But where the recent paradigm shift caused by the pandemic outbreak had lessened the number of customers at these shops, the boiling heat has brought scores of locals back to their favorite beverage stores, albeit under new circumstances. As per SOPs provided by the government, customers can no longer gather within these poky stores and orders are instead brought outside to their vehicles.

A page from history

Anwar Hussain Qureshi, who owns a famed lemon soda store housed in the heart of Rawalpindi’s Hospital Road, shared that he started his business more than sixty years ago in 1956.

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The 73-years old veteran cold beverage seller, whose ancestors hail from Agra, India is a resident of the Fazal Elahi area of Rawalpindi Cantonment where he lives with his five children. According to Qureshi, his business has served as the family’s primary source of bread and butter for decades. “When I started my business, I used to sell lemon water drinks on the footpath for as little as two paisas a glass. Later, I started selling lemon soda with soda water and moved my price up from two paisas to five paisas for a glass.

It wasn’t much, but the economy wasn’t as bad as it is today and I could still make enough to survive from my road-side business back then,” he told. “Today, a glass of lemon soda costs Rs 25, out of which I only save Rs 5-7 as profit,” he added.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Qureshi said that although he has been able to get his children a formal education, he has also made sure that they know how to run the family business. “I understand this business is not as profitable as it once used to be. Inflation has caused prices of sugar and other key ingredients to skyrocket and rent has also become increasingly difficult to pay. But I can’t just shut down my shop. It’s operated for decades and holds a lot of historical significance for a lot of people.”

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Qureshi proudly shared that his shop has been a regular spot for several celebrities, high-profile politicians and dignitaries. Film stars Sultan Rahi, Neelum, Anjuman, Javed Sheikh as well as cricketers Waseem Akram, Aijaz Ahmed, Shoaib Akhtar, Muhammad Waseem, Javed Miandad, squash legend Jahangir Khan and former captain of hockey team are the many names which rolled off Qureshi’s tongue, while talking about his esteemed clientele. Reminiscing what he considers a historic moment, Qureshi said that back in the day his store was also a favorite spot for Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senior leader Chaudhry Fazal Elahi and slain prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

The former prime minister, he said, shared a liking for Union toffee, which she would often buy. “I remember her as a woman of principle, just like her father. Once she bought ten toffees from me but was two paisas short, so she insisted that I only give her what she could buy.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7^th, 2020.