Has the monk grown old?

Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Rajkumar Hirani gave the cinema audience of this country and the Indian diaspora a cinematic treat that will be remembered for a lifetime. Each and every character of the film was carefully chosen and had a contribution to make to the script. Such eloquence was earlier probably seen only in “Sholay” where the myriad of characters put the screen on fire.

Rancho, Farhan, Raju and not to forget the “screwed-up yet affable” Chatur put a lot of us back into the “campus mode”. We went back to the days when life revolved around an institution called “college”. People who were residents of college hostels could relate more to the plot as the happenings passed by like a montage of clips. Faces of people who were defined as “friends” at one point of time were recollected. Every single, small, uneventful happening became a part of this pleasant nostalgia. Those were the days.

Chatur put the film into the drive with his “TamBram” accented Hindi which was devoid of any grammatical accuracy. But the fella was a pleasure to watch. As he offers a bottle of “Madeira” (the man had a gadget- it was too advanced to be called a cell phone- which contained a dictionary software) to 2 Idiots (Rancho decided not to turn up), my eyes fell on the label of the small bottle. It said, “Old Monk – 7 years old blended XXX Rum”. By the time my nervous system reacted to this picture, the whole audience started screaming. Chatur had brought out another piece of nostalgia- Old Monk rum.

From soldiers to civilians, from the rich to the poor, politicos, bureaucrats, students, wanderers and even teetotalers- this spirit has given “moments of pride” to a lot of people. The brand is owned by the Indian distillers Mohan Meakin & Co. and manufactured at their Mohannagar (Ghaziabad) factory. Established in 1855 by Edward Dyer, the company was later acquired by N N Mohan after Independence. The distillers have since then made quite a few improvements to this flagship brand of theirs. But the original shape of the bottle and the label has always remained the same. An old monk from one of the catholic monasteries has always featured on it making it easily recognizable by its patrons. With 42.20% alcohol content, it is a bit more “spirited” but ask any of the “old monk loyalists”, the taste is unbeatable. The loyalty of the brand can be estimated from the fact that it is the world’s third largest selling brand of rum with sales of 9 million cases in a year. “Bacardi” is the largest selling brand with about 14.00 million cases followed by “Tundray” which sells 12.90 million cases a year.

“Break the seal and with the first drop the fragrance of caned sugar from lush green fields will fill your nostrils”- is what a tagline for this great brand says. Trust me, they are right. The 750 ml (They call it “Khamba” in common parlance) of liquid has supported people through various emotions through more than a century. It has been a catalyst to celebrations and victory, it has been a friend to people during moments of sorrow and loss, it has bought people by it sheer power to dislodge people from rationality and it has even “put to sleep” a lot of people who thought they could win over it!


There are umpteen college stories that have revolved around this “distilled drop of cane sugar”. Abhijit Bhaduri gave a very vivid description of it in his book “Mediocre but Arrogant”- a book that brought out the life in an management school very well. “Rum and Coke” became a potent combination for the youth in the early 90s and thereafter. College hostels celebrated or supported “bad times” with this combination. The “bitter-sweet” taste is not just a “cocktail”. It is the way of living up that moment.

There are two kinds of people who drink “old monk”- one who are ‘loyalists’ (people who would not drink anything else until they don’t have a choice) and the second are the people who drink it because it is one of the most “affordable” spirits around (It still sells for under 300 bucks a bottle). Actually, it’s the “affordable” brass which moves on with time to becoming a “loyalist”. Or perhaps it’s the habit of watching another “loyalist” that makes you a “loyalist”. I fall in this category. Collegians start drinking it because of its sheer “affordability” which translates into its volumes (In college you drink for no rhyme and reason. Whatever be the reason, you just drink)

The club culture gave a big boost to the use of alcohol in India. “Bars” were generally frequented by people who were perceived as people who weren’t capable of “holding their glasses”. They drank cheap liquor (mostly Whisky) on a daily basis for a myriad of reasosn and were expected to create a “scene after getting drunk”. But “pubbers” were apparently a group of smart, suave, polished, up market guys who used the “spirits to raise their spirits”. Well Exceptions were always there (Poor Jessica Lall got shot by a “high” and “high powered” Manu Sharma) but as a whole, they were a “safe lot”.

Coming back to “old monk”, it very soon became a brand of the classes and the masses. Army and Police officers would not end their days without a sip of it. Winters turned it into a life-saving drug with the folks in hill stations making a beeline for it. On a visit to Nathu La, I was shocked to find it being sold in households in Sikkim. The monk had managed to conquer even the remotest households of the country. Fathers and sons had it alike. Soldiers kept themselves warm in blizzards and snow by a sip of it. Folklore goes in the Indian army that subordinates have to be “tipped” with it. People were “bribed” with it and people were “saved” (42.20 % alcohol can kill any kind of infection) with it. It has gone into cakes, pastries and innumerable other bakery products. It has been used as a cooking medium or to garnish a recipe. It is also used to wash one’s hair and to give it a shiny feel before a social appearance (the sugar in it sticks to the strands and gives hair a shiny look).

There is a certain gentleman who I know to be fond of the monk like anything. He was a “top cop” and kept a flask of the spirit always with him. When asked about it he always replied, “I can’t ask God to come with me but I can ask the monk. Can’t I?” Can there be a higher loyalty quotient. Another anecdote is about a train journey from Durgapur to Delhi. Aborad Howrah Rajdhani we opened a bottle of it along with some “Hilsa” fish for company. The public couldn’t appreciate the combination that their nostrils were treated to. Before somebody called the coach attendant, the fish was gobbled and the monk was safely tucked inside a blanket. Then we started screaming. The monks taught us that “offence was the best form of defence”. Long live the monk.
Old monk has not survived alone but has given a new lease of life to a lot of other people too. When Coca-Cola entered the Indian market, it started buying it competitors in India to gain market share. This included “Campa Cola” and “Thums Up”. The acquisition killed the former but the latter survived. “Thums Up” made a potent combination with it and this could not be replicated by Coke in any other form. Thus it survived and got a new lease of life.

The best part about it is the fact that its brand has become synonymous with “Rum”. You talk of rum and you mean “Old monk”. It is equally popular and sold and is available in all parts throughout India giving it a national character. It would not be wrong to say it has united India in the same mode as “lux” soap or “parachute” hair oil.It has been nearly two decades since the monk was born and been an integral part of its connoisseurs’ life. Its patrons swear by it and its competitors fear its reach. Even “Bacardi” and “Tundray” with its international market are barely ahead of it while “Old Monk” is served only in the Indian diaspora.

Dearest monk, all we wish to tell you is that your presence in our lives gives us a wider spectrum to look out to. In regulated quantities you have added a lot of colours to our lives and given us moments of joy and gaiety. So, whenever this question is posed to us about your age asking, “has the monk grown old?” all we answer is, “The monk is ageless”.

P.S. The words are the personal opinion of the author and are not meant to harm or offend any person living or dead. Consumption of alcohol is dangerous to the health.