Rooh Afza means “refresher of the soul”. This 115-year-old drink has survived the 1947 partition and three wars, and yet it continues to unite the people of India and Pakistan.
The drink was first sold in 1907 in Old Delhi by Hakim Hafiz Abdul Majeed, a traditional healing practitioner. After the 1947 partition, one of his sons stayed in India while the other moved to Pakistan.
The sons set up two factories in the two neighbouring countries called Hamdard India and Hamdard Pakistan.
It is regarded as a summer drink in both countries.
