At this former RJ’s juice shop, fruits double as containers

BENGALURU: Imagine drinking watermelon juice from the fruit itself ! That’s exactly what Anand Raaj, an entrepreneur, had in mind when he started Eat Raja, an ecofriendly juice shop in Malleswaram.
Juices of seasonal fruits like watermelon, pineapple and muskmelon can be had from the fruits themselves, which are converted into containers. All other juices are served in glass cups. Though the shop has been there at the same spot since 1970s as Karnataka Travelling Centre and Fruit Juice, Anand revamped the place a year ago as Eat Raja. Raaj wanted to find degradable containers that
wouldn’t be very expensive. That’s when he hit upon the idea of ‘zero-waste juice’. “The juices are completely eco-friendly and it’s fun to drink from the fruits themselves,” he says.
Today, this green warrior’s shop is 95% waste-free. Raaj uses straws made of coconut leaves. Out of the citrus peels and other fruit scraps, he makes bio enzymes, which he uses to clean vessels, floors and even his clothes. Raaj, who calls himself a ‘waste engineer’, believes in the mantra that nothing should go waste from his shop. “If change has to happen, it should begin with oneself,” he adds.
Raaj worked as a radio jockey for 12 years, during which he’d constantly bring up issues of poor waste management in Bengaluru and talk of how his listeners could do their bit in creating a clean surrounding. He now uses the shop’s prime location to his advantage, displaying ecofriendly messages on boards outside it. “I want this shop to be a communication cafe. I want my shop to make people think about the environment,” he adds.
Raaj has conducted waste management workshops and seminars in over 200 colleges in Karnataka and believes the real power to bring about change lies in the hands of students. “Telling students what not to do is not effective enough. I want to be an example for people,” says Raaj.
During his engineering days, he was a member of a mountaineering club and that’s one of the reasons he is conscious about environment, he adds.
— Meghna Nair