SUMMER

He selected one long, thick, piece of sugar cane, about 5' in length and then set the mangle whirring while he pushed the stick of cane through, with the expertise of long practice.  The pale green juice came pouring out through a muslin and into a waiting pot.  I watched fascinated as he bent the stick in half and put it through the process again. Still there was a steady stream of juice....choosing a fresh piece of cut lime from a bowl, he tucked a couple of quarters into the flattened sugar cane stick with a little piece of fresh ginger and put it through the mangle a third time !  Satisfied that he had extracted all the juice, this was then poured into a beer mug, with a straw and handed to me.  It's kind of sweet and peppery and half the fun, is watching the technique for 5 minutes before you get to taste it - with no additives or colouring, this pale green brew is delicious at the end of a long, hot, day in Gujarat.  Since this is a 'dry State' with a prohibition against alcohol,  sitting on his old wooden bench on the side of the road, is the next best thing to a 'Bar Culture' !