Hakim Hafiz Abdul Majeed founded Hamdard, the creator of Rooh Afza, a herbal drink that helps people stay cool in the summer. He was born in 1883 and studied the origins of Urdu and Persian languages.
He obtained the highest degree in the Unani system of medicine. In 1906, Hakim Hafiz Abdul Majeed opened a herbal shop in Delhi, which later expanded into a production house in 1920. He developed Rooh Afza by selecting herbs and syrups from traditional Unani medicines, naming it ‘Rooh Afza,’ which means ‘something that refreshes the soul’ in Urdu.
The partition of India in 1947 had an impact on the journey of Rooh Afza. Hakim Abdul Majeed’s eldest son decided to stay in India, while his younger brother Mohammad Saeed moved to Pakistan and started Hamdard there.
In 1971, after the independence of Bangladesh, Hakim Mohammad Said’s daughter, Sadia Rashid, mentioned that her father gifted the business to the people of Bangladesh.
Rooh Afza gained more popularity in India, where it was initially introduced in glass bottles designed in Germany but later switched to plastic. In 2019, there was a shortage of Rooh Afza due to the limited availability of the herbs required for its production. Over the years, Rooh Afza expanded its product line to include items like Pachnaul, Safi, and Rogan Badam Shirin.
