Designer Water....Drink it with a pinch of Designer Salt!

twinsmom · Sep 12, 2007

‘Designer’ is the ‘in’ word these days. We have graduated from designer clothes to designer jewellery, from designer furniture to designer homes. And the latest to hit the shelves of ‘designer’ malls, is DESIGNER WATER! I recently read about Canaqua, bottled water selling at fancy ‘designer’ rates. You are not going to believe this! A 475 ml bottle of Canaqua costs 10 Dirhams (Rs. 110)in <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 /><ST1:CITY><ST1LACE>Dubai</ST1LACE></ST1:CITY>…! Wait! The joke is not over yet! The same bottle costs 3 Pounds in <ST1:CITY><ST1LACE>London</ST1LACE></ST1:CITY> (ie- Dhs 20), 6 Euros in <ST1:COUNTRY-REGION><ST1LACE>France</ST1LACE></ST1:COUNTRY-REGION>( Dhs 28), 4 Euros in <ST1:COUNTRY-REGION><ST1LACE>Italy</ST1LACE></ST1:COUNTRY-REGION> ( Dhs 18) and 7 Yen in <ST1:COUNTRY-REGION><ST1LACE>Japan</ST1LACE></ST1:COUNTRY-REGION> ( Dhs 26)! I must warn all those designer clad jet setters of the UAE to carry their own Canaquas when they travel to these places… Or the poor dears (pun not intended) will be fleeced!

Well, the founder/ owner of Canaqua, Linda Samis, may get annoyed by my cynicism. She claims that the water is from an underground aquifer spring located in the mountains of <ST1:STATE><ST1LACE>British Columbia</ST1LACE></ST1:STATE> in <ST1:COUNTRY-REGION><ST1LACE>Canada</ST1LACE></ST1:COUNTRY-REGION>, around 1200 ft above sea level! And it is also claimed that it is untouched by air or any living thing (! ) and is hydraulically pumped up 180 ft to be bottled (by non –living things?)

This reminds me of a story I have read in the ‘Aithihyamala’, a collection of legendary tales of people, places and events of ancient <ST1LACE>South India</ST1LACE>.
There was this Brahmin who was suffering from severe stomach ache, who approached a famous vaidyan (physician). ‘You must have a dose of python fat for a month to get cured,’ said the vaidyan to the extremely religious and vegetarian Brahmin.
‘Impossible!’ said the man and walked away dejected. He could not bear to think of violating his dharma by giving up his sacred vegetarianism. Realizing that he would die soon, he went to a near by temple and sat there, dejected. A stranger who was seated nearby asked him why he looked so sad and the man told him of his plight.

‘Well! Anyway you are going to die, so why don’t you stay at this temple for 41 days and worship God? You should go to the waterfalls in the forest behind this temple, have your bath and drink three handfuls of water from the fall. Then you offer your prayers at the temple. Thinking that he had nothing to lose, the man started doing that. Within a month, he felt better and after 41 days he was fit as a fiddle. He decided to meet the vaidyan and tell him how wrong he had been with his diagnosis. The vaidyan would not believe him and asked the man to show what he had done to cure himself. He accompanied the man to the waterfall and started looking around. When he climbed the mountain side from where water thundered down, he saw the remains of a huge, dead and decayed python hanging on a rock.
He showed his ‘would –have –been’ patient the snake and smiled. ‘I wanted you to have python fat for 30 days, you have taken it for 41. Well, in the long run it will do you good!!”

What I mean is, isn’t it a tall claim (1200 ft above sea level!) to say that our designer water under discussion is untouched by ‘air or any living thing’? Some living thing must have touched that water…at some point of time. What about the hydraulic pump that draws the water up? Wasn’t that installed by ‘living things’?…Doesn’t the said pump need regular maintenance…rendered by living things? Well… that is food …er… no…water for thought!

And coming right back to our bottle of water that costs Dhs 10, for 475ml… 475 ml? Why not 500 ml? What will the price be for 500ml then? 1000 fils divided by 475 ml multiplied by .25ml, added to Dhs10… Or is it…? Ooh! Readers who know my mathematical prowess will no doubt, sympathise with me…This is as agonizing as R. K. Narayan’s Swami’s plight…while calculating the cost of mangoes!

Anyway, who will notice there is 25 ml less in the bottle than what you expect in an average small bottle of water? As it is, people don’t finish their bottles of mineral water and, generally leave behind unfinished bottles in restaurants and picnic spots… We, of the designer generation, have no value for money! So what if there are nations trying frantically to wet millions of parched throats, or are embarking on the Herculean task of connecting all the rivers within its boundaries… Ours not to reason why… Ours but to buy and try… and waste. Sad, but disastrously and scandalously true!

sunkan · Sep 12, 2007

Very True Viju,
My Sister Sathya Has Also Written Abt The Wastage Of Water Bottles Lying In The Hotel And Trains, And All Eatables Places, Human Nature Is To Follow Blindly What, Every One Does...nice Article..sunkan

Shanvy · Sep 12, 2007

Hi twinsmom,

We in india..how can you leave. us... we buy oxyrich water...then herbal water....

Recently we were having lunch at saravana bhavan at swagat(?) there we asked for bottled water..we were given aquafina....not the ordinary 1ltr/1.5lt..it was just 750, was costlier...we asked the waiter..he told us that the details are in the wrapper...there it was 5 times purified...veda being in the water industry started laughing....specially packed for restaurants, ...........................

I had a friend who bought evian water just for the cute bottle... and for putting it on display whenever we poor guests were invited...for 2 years have seen it standing witness..there..all in the name of show ......................

AS long as poeple like them are there....there are others who fleece us out...........
http://www.blonnet.com/2002/03/13/stories/2002031300880900.htm:cry:
(We liked to be fleeced all in the name of good health and our insecurities regarding health)

Vysan · Sep 12, 2007

Hi TM,

Welcome to the Water Industry....

There are other water which are as expensive... Evion, Perrier.....

Water is Water.... For drinking.... Is it pure, fine take it.... That is what we think...

But Water to Water, the taste differs due to the TDS/Ph and other mineral contents... Sorry I am not a technical person... So I dont want to go indepth in this... been in the Industry for almost 5 years, with one of the leaders in the business...

My wife will always tell the taste difference of Water.... When it has natural flavour and correct mineral composition, it is always better than any other water which has been balanced manually by mankind.... It is like the difference in swimming between a fish and a man who can swim like a fish.... The swimming of fish will obviously be great because it is natural..... Whatever good swimmer a person be he cannot compete with it...

Always a quality premium product come with a attahced price tag..

In the western world where people are more eco conscious and brand conscious.... if they buy this this will boost their self ego...

Secondly, the cost of pumping the water and filling it up at such a isolated location in Canada and shipping it to UAE.... will be a costly affair... If you remember one tamil saying... Podhi nalana... adhan somakooli ettana...

Look at the sexy design of the bottle... The cost of the water will only be 10-15% of the total cost of production... Packing and shipping cost will be a major portion in this industry.....

At the end of the day, as long as people are there to buy it at that price.... It will be there....

Veda

twinsmom · Sep 12, 2007

Very true, Vysan...
But I have seen Aqufina and Bisleri water bottles filled with tap water in Places like Arsikere and Subramanya...

Kamalji · Sep 15, 2007

Vijuji,

Well as veda said as long as there are people to buy, there will be sellers.

I think mineral water is a waste really of good money.Did we not survive with it not very long ago ?

A good humourous article.

You have inspired me to write an article,regarding how foolish people are,and how they acn be taken for a ride.The subject is water itself.

I will give u due credit,dont worry. Regards.kamal

subbutr · Sep 15, 2007

Well presented topic by Twinsmom and ably supported by our Vedaji...

The Multi Million Money Making project is purified water market and it has so many takers as the modern era of public's belief followed by their experiances and others say remains as a practice to encourage such modern techniques of marketting....That's a reality.

As our veda said as long as the demand, the market for such products will fetch more revenue irrespective of its merits & demerits.

Exploitations by the MNC's also adds its share....

One must have seen the history last so many years, where in there was no such Purified water plants or such industry. Then came in number of virus infections due to contaminated water ( Courtesy : Mass Industrialaizations & Leather, Dyeing factories & all other Processing industries which discharged their chemical waste water in to the nearby canals and rivers ) That changed the groud water resources in to most impotable for use.

Automatically the recycled water, purifaction plants came in to existance & exploited the economy of common people.

Best solutions is to boil the water and cool it naturally before use. We save money as well as health.

Too much use of Aqua fina / mineral water will make the body immune for other normal drinking water...Beware of this and preserve our natural resources along with our health.

Thanks for the oppertunity to express our views.
Subbu

twinsmom · Sep 17, 2007

Hi Subbutr,

Sad but true.... It is all about supply and demand... But when did we forget about customer's rights?

twinsmom · Sep 17, 2007

HI Kamalji,

Aahhh! My FIL will love you.... he dislikes all these hype about bottled water...the so called 'mineral water'.... Have you heard of OXYFRESH water....? What next Eh?