All iced up for summer

``VANILLA ICE. Paal Ice. Semia Ice. Cup Ice. Cone Ice,'' went our friendly neighbourhood ice-cream vendor, once upon a time, cycling through the sweltering city, tugging at the cycle bell. ``Only you will get bacteria totally free with it,'' Amma used to warn.

But given how affordable they were, even school kids could save up money for a secret quick 'n slick lick. But, wait! Before you go ``Those were the days...'', here's some real cool news for the shimmering summer ahead.

Ice-creams and softies are still cheap and affordable, thanks to the ``cold-wars'' of the new millennium, fought in places colder than Siberia, right here in the city... the cold-storage refrigeration systems of rival ice-cream companies.

Hindustan Lever's variant Kwality Walls, installed softy machines all across the city, in the last few months, to sell softies for Rs.5 only, a different flavour everyday.

And competition was not just watching, MTR sprung into action as well, with quality biscuit cones, installing similar softy machines.

Thus, thanks to the big players involved, one thing that's for the good, is the improvement in the quality of softies that we've got to taste in the recent years.

If hygiene once stood between children of the city's middle-class and ice-creams, that today would no longer be the case for the machines have made softies affordable.

Affordability, in fact, has expanded the consumer base for softies from just children to almost everyone. Evidence lies scattered throughout the city. For instance, drop in at Spencer Plaza, and you can see scores of window-shoppers licking cream, at a price that's cheaper than the car-park ticket there.

The ice-cream vending machines, today are there, just about everywhere, doing brisk business on soft-targets, softy- lovers that is. Take Nungambakkam for example, where you can see competition on either side of the road, installed right outside the restaurants there.

Ice-creams lovers have always been here in the city, more than ready to participate in the Eat-As-Much-As-You-Can ice- cream contests held every year by Arun Ice-cream lovers.

Even recently, when Arun Ice-cream organised its `Delight' contest on Sunday, ice-cream went down well, in tons in fact, into the craving throats of scores of children who landed up at the ice-cream mela.

Big brands, therefore, have been the biggest boon, for ice-cream lovers in the city. No more hygiene factors for an excuse to refrain from them. Health factors are another story. But there are always good toothpaste brands and enterprising dentists, ever ready to prescribe, ``Ice Ice Baby''.

By Sudhish Kamath

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