TBI Invisible Heroes Of Everyday: The Goli Soda Guy

By Tejaswi Bhagavatula

July 29, 2014

TBI Invisible Heroes Of Everyday: The Goli Soda Guy

A hot summer day, the scorching sun and low energy. What comes to the rescue is our very own Goli Soda guy with his colourful soda bottles and chilled offerings. In the times of soft drinks and their many brands, this guy sure gives you a better flavour, assured freshness and a big bang for your buck!

A hot summer day, the scorching sun and low energy. What comes to the rescue is our very own goli soda guy with his colourful soda bottles and chilled refreshment. In the times of soft drinks and their many brands, this guy sure gives you a better flavour, assured freshness and a big bang for your buck!

Do you remember the age-old goli soda? I was lucky enough to come across a goli soda seller in the deep lanes of One Town area, Vijayawada.

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It was my childhood fantasy to be a goli soda seller, as opening the soda bottle by pressing the goli (a glass marble which pressure-locks the aerated lemon water) looked like so much fun, and I thought it needed super-human power!

Well, I got into a chat with Ramana, the seller. He says there are lots of people who buy it as it’s a thirst-quenching drink that’s got lemon, is aerated and comes fresh everyday.

Moreover, it’s pocket friendly at just Rs.2 per chilled bottle. These guys are so straight-forward that the regular soda bottles with cooling are sold for Rs.1.5 only. I ask Ramana how the business is, and his answer is a reassuring “GOOD.”

He says in summer people flock to his shop and that he makes a profit large enough to keep the business going through the winter when sales aren’t so great.

There’s ‘Cocakola’, ‘Fepsi’ and ‘Panta’ in the market but nobody gives so much of a drink for so less, so goli soda still rules, he says. Next time you come across a goli soda selling shop, make sure to stop by and enjoy the original Indian aerated refreshment!

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About the author and photographer: Tejaswi Bhagavatula is a Hyderabad-based writer, poet, painter, biker, photographer, corporate profile-writer, on-the-way-CA, part-time tax consultant – all to fund his passion for travelling! He wishes to work for change through bringing out stories and his dream is to ride to Ladakh on his dear old Bullet, while learning and writing about people he meets all along the way and someday, maybe make it a storybook.

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