CHENNAI: Along with the cycle chain, the goli soda is the weapon of choice for most Tamil film heroes—in a fight, the thick bottle comes in handy. But of late, this carbonated drink has been having a bad run. The thick glass that made it so useful in a fight is partly to be blamed. The bottles cost more than that of rival soft drinks, take more time to clean and transporting them is quite a pain.

All this made the business unviable for goli soda makers, who gradually shut shop one after another in the past couple of decades. But after a hiatus, Chennai-based Trumba Beverages is attempting to give the goli soda its fizz back. It has launched Rocket Soda, a goli soda brand which it sells at Rs 40 for a returnable 180 ml bottle. For comparison, Pepsi and Coke cost Rs 8 for 200 ml and the other few surviving makers of goli soda sell for about Rs 7 or less. “We wanted to do something that would connect with our roots and that’s how I decided to make these sodas and sell it at high-end restaurants ,” said 32-year-old Shalini Muthukumar , who owns Trumba Beverages. “We will soon be experimenting with different kinds of flavours like blueberry and strawberry.” But standing in her way again is the bottle. Most Bottle Makers Have Shut Down

What makes the goli soda special is the bottle more than the drink itself. The Codd-neck bottles that they come in are enclosed with a marble—goli in Tamil—and a rubber washer or gasket in the neck. Named after Hiram Codd of London, who designed and patented them in 1872, the rarity of Codd-neck bottle accounts for the willingness of consumers to pay extra for a fizzy drink. But with the downturn in goli soda, most bottle makers also shut down, and sourcing them is not easy.

To start with, Muthukumar sourced the bottles from Vellore in north Tamil Nadu. But now she has placed an order with Khandelwal Glass Works in Uttar Pradesh , one of the few surviving makers. “You can’t sterilise these bottles, you should use caustic soda to clean them,” said Muthukumar. This is because unlike normal bottles, the narrow neck comes in the way, making them more time-consuming and expensive to clean. The empty Codd-neck bottles are filled upside down, with the gas pressure forcing the marble against the washer. Kali Aerated Water Works, one of the oldest soft drink manufacturers in the country with brands like Bovonto, had been a goli soda maker.

“We exited the business as we felt this was not hygienic . The bottles are exposed to dust and washing the bottles was a tedious task,” said K Karthick, proprietor of Kali Aerated Water Works. “At times, children break these bottles to pull out the goli (marble) and play.”

Karthick said even earlier the Codd-neck bottles were expensive. “In the 1970s, the cost of a normal glass bottle used to be 30 paise but cost of these Goli soda bottles was Rs 5.” D Balakrishnan, proprietor of Vasu Soda Company, one of the few surviving makers of goli soda in the state, said sales dwindled after the coming of newer soft drink brands. He said the bottles used to cost about Rs 10 in the 1980s and 90s. “Today the cost of bottle is Rs 50 while the cost of the drink itself is anywhere between Rs 5 and Rs 7 depending on the location.” Balakrishnan has 1,500 bottles and at least two break or are damaged each week in transit.