As the temperature goes north, people are looking for ways to stay cool and hydrated. With increasing stress on health, tender coconut tops many people’s list of hearty thirst-quenchers.
This common man’s ‘cool’ drink continues to find favour, despite the ready availability of packaged drinks. Be it drinking the water straight from the nut or biting into the delicious coconut flesh, or being a little creative by using it in puddings and soufflés, tender coconut is the way to beat the heat.
Even as demand soars, the prices have touched the Rs.30 mark for a tender coconut. Any more increase, and people will stop buying it, says R. Sreekumaran Nair, who sells tender coconut opposite G. Padmanabha Pillai children’s park at Fort.
Anil Kumar who sells tender coconut near the Fort school says business has been brisk with nearly 100 customers a day. With some buying tender coconuts for the entire family, the summer has been profitable, he says.
Sreekumaran opens shop at 9 a.m. With some 150-200 tender coconuts being sold a day, it is 9 p.m. before he can wind up business. The steady stream of customers, he says, will continue for a month or two, till the onset of the rain. Then, as demand dips, he will reduce the stock he takes in.
Ones from State tastier
Anil, who has been selling tender coconuts for nine years, says the demand for coconuts from Kerala is more as it is tastier, unlike the ones from other States. “As the mercury soars, the water in the coconut goes down. However, the coconut from the State not only looks good, but tastes good too.”
The cost of disposing of waste is proving to be a burden, they say. While Sreekumaran estimates that he shells out Rs.7,000 a month for waste removal, Anil says his weekly expenditure for the same comes to Rs.1,500.
Tender coconut is more than a seasonal drink for some though. Summer or not, they patronise the tender coconut stalls throughout the year for the drink’s health benefits.
