Know what I’ve been longing for in these blazing summer days of 38 degrees C heat? A glass of matka pani. Back in the day when not every home had a refrigerator, and water purifiers were unheard of, every family kept a matka filled with drinking water in the kitchen. It stood quietly on a little shelf or metal stand — a plump earthen pot, sometimes fitted with a brass tap, sometimes covered with a lid that had to be lifted before dipping in a long wooden spoon with a coconut shell at the end.
When you came home from school, work or the market, the first thing you did was have a drink of water. Not because you were desperately thirsty. It was simply habit. Summer itself seemed incomplete without matka pani. And what water it was! Cool, but never icy. Soft on the throat. Carrying that faint earthy fragrance of wet clay that no refrigerator has managed to imitate. Even now, every time I pull a bottle of chilled water from the fridge, I remember the satisfying taste of water from a matka. Not even cold beer came close.
Back then, nobody spoke about “health benefits.” Our grandparents probably never imagined that modern wellness experts would one day rediscover the humble matka. Today, we are told the earthen pot acts as a natural insulator, cooling water gently according to the climate, the clay is believed to retain minerals and electromagnetic energy that help digestion, ease acidity, prevent heat stroke, maintain body glucose and keep energy levels balanced during harsh summers.
Imagine that! All this science quietly sitting in a corner of the kitchen all along. I think I’m going to buy a matka today. Not so much for the health benefits as for the sheer nostalgia. Yes, you can order one online now. And hopefully it will be delivered in one piece. But somehow, a matka feels like something that should be bought from a roadside potter or an old market shop on a sweltering afternoon. I only wonder whether the water will taste the same as before.
About Mark Manuel
The above thoughts/content has been proudly copied from the wall of Sir Mark Manuel. Being interviewing almost every role model of this country and going stronger each day. Mark Manuel is a respected Mumbai editor, writer, and columnist.
With over three decades of journalism in leading publications. This includes the Free Press Journal, Times, Dainik Bhaskar, Mid-Day, and Afternoon. He is famous for his brilliant pen interviews. He himself is a TEDx speaker.
Further
His interviews have featured in several leading media houses. They include the Hindustan Times, Huffington Post, BBC, and Network 18. Almost every famous person has been interviewed by him in the country from Mother Teresa to Muhammad Ali. His first book is just out. It’s titled Moryaa Re! It is a crime thriller that is perhaps the country’s first police procedural. He began his career covering crime. And in a tribute to his experience and knowledge of this beat.
Several distinguished officers of the Mumbai Police and its Crime Branch collaborated with him to make this book possible. Amitabh Bachchan wrote the forward in a statement of friendship for Mark Manuel and admiration for his work.
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