20 yrs back who would have thought of serving orange juice at home. Squashes were expensive. Aerated beverages were beyond ones reach as far serving at home is concerned.
Thanks to Rasna it brought the concept of serving juices to the guests instead of serving mundane tea or coffee. At least it opened our minds to a different alternative for serving to our guests and for consumption in the households of drinks other than hot beverages.
In those days getting the aerated beverages were a cumbersome process, with the retailer asking for deposits etc. (which is prevalent even today). The purchasing power of the Indian middle class was not high to afford an aerated beverage like Coke, Thums up, etc., Thanks to Rasna , it came in not as an 100% substitute but nevertheless it did open the middle class to a soft drink.
Now that the purchasing power has increased with individuals I think it is not fair to talk bad about Rasna. We need to give it, its due where it is required. It is chemical would be one argument - but other soft drinks also have chemicals and preservatives in it, don’t they ?Rasna is a soft drink concentrate to be prepared at home, you can’t compare it with other bottled aerated drinks - its like comparing oranges and apples
To me, at least Rasna is made at home under the watchful eyes of my mom, the best water ( 100% pure filtered from a purifier is used) the best sugar is used, clean utensils are used in its preparation ---------what else do you want ?One packet gives me 2 full squash bottles of the drink.
Now that the cost of sugar and other commodities have gone up - the price of Rasna has also gone up but , the cost of other soft drinks have also increased. Have they not ?
It quite easy to prepare and comes in lot of flavours but I prefer Orange and Lemon ( Nimbu pani ). My best way of having Rasna is to crush the ice cubes put it in a glass ( add Rasna to it pour some water) And you have a damn good slush ( gola in a glass) at home. Try it, you will love it .