Apart from direct intake of water, there are other forms such as food recipes, drinks like buttermilk and an exclusive summer specific Ahara Kalpana ( diet speciality) called Panakam. Festivals during summer are ruled by buttermilk and Panakam. In fact, panakam finds a place during Sarad Rtu celebrations ( autumn season) because during that phase, Pitta is at its peak. Having dealt about buttermilk at length, it is now essential to know about the properties and benefits of Panakam. Panakam has a common base which is water added with jaggery. Depending on the other ingredients, its purpose varies. In general, panakam is meant for quenching thirst and pacify pitta symptoms like burning sensation, giddiness etc. There are exceptions like Mango panakam which helps in digestion and improving appetite. It is recommended not to add tamarind to panakam, especially during summer because it can increase pitta(heat ) thirst and acidity. Other natural additives are cardamom, karpoora ( பச்சை கற்பூரம்) which effectively relieve nausea. Few examples of panakam recipes are mentioned here. 1. One made from coriander seeds, sugar candy, karpura which brings down Pitta to normal in very quick time. 2. Susruta, the father of surgery, mentions a very simple drink made from dry grapes with water for relieving tiredness, fainting, burning sensation and thirst. Among the six tastes, three tastes reduce Vata i.e. sweet, sour and salt. Among these tastes, sour and salt taste in foods like buttermilk help to prevent Vata energy from getting aggregated during summer. Sweet taste is also pacifying Vata and this is applied through Panakam. To be more specific, sweet taste is the most effective in controlling Vata-Pitta association which typically happens during peak of pitta. The benefits of water rich traditional panakam will be directly minimizing or nullifying summer challenges like thirst, giddiness and fainting.