The 2-minute Magic Spell

'Mummy bhook lagi hai' mumbled two little hungry kids... 'Bas do minute' said the mother... and quite rightly so in the midst of an exciting television ad jingle a yummy platter of noodles was ready in two minutes flat!!! Oh yes, I'm talking about everyone's favourite - Maggi Noodles!!!

If you're in your twenties or thirties and if you have not had Maggi... then you've probably just landed from some other planet. Maggi was and is my favourite kitchen rack item. It takes you just two minutes to decide to want to eat Maggi, then just about two minutes to get it ready and if you're really hungry... just another two minutes to slurp it down :)

Amit's ode to this favourite snack of mine prompted me to write this post. Apparently Maggi completes 25 years this year... 25 years of filling hungry tummies in the quickest possible time! It sure is quite something. I'm quite impressed by the different variations that the Maggi family has tried to offer over the years... somehow though the original Maggi Masala will always remain my favourite.

As kids, my sisters and me were even part of the Maggi Club. We used to get these fancy Maggi memorabilia, Maggi Club pin-up badges, loads of mailers from the Maggi Club etc. The mailers would be something that we waited for longingly... who else would be kind enough to mark letters to some less-than-10-year olds :) Maggi did!!! It connected with us right then... and the bond continues to last right through... up to now and am sure for a long way down the future. It is almost as if the 2-minute magic has cast a spell to last us a lifetime :)

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Generation Fast Forward!

The young and trendy like to be referred as Generation Next... but the generation that's catching up loud and clear is Generation Fast Forward - a generation branding that I've done for the kids of today, clearly much quicker in thought and action than most of us who'd want to call ourselves GenNext just coz it sounds cool.

My little niece, who's as little as one does so many things that we would have probably never imagined when we were that age. She does everything from humming a lullaby to put her doll to sleep to walking around so matter-of-factly with a mobile when someone calls. She even speaks in some kind of language that she understands so well and speaks with a 'you don't understand this??!!' attitude!

When we were kids, we were known to be sweet, cute and cuddly. Kids of today are not just all of that but are also smart, intelligent and quick!

Here's a conversation I heard at a bookstore between an affluent mom and her smart little kid, a young guy all of 7 years maybe:

Rich Affluent Mom (RAM): Come on son, we've picked up enough books for yourself.
Smart Little Kid (SLK): Yes mom, just for Rs.2000. We can add some more to it. Check out this one, its ONLY Rs.675/-
RAM: Don't you think its expensive, son!
SLK: It's really worth it, mom! I've read about it somewhere and it is really worth the price (economics pro in the making... I never knew to judge if things were worth their price at 7 years of age!!!)
RAM: Son..!!
SLK: Come on mom, be a sport! You could even pick a copy for yourself!!!

Now how mean was that! Just imagine your own kid not willing to 'share' his books with you. Imagine him/ her asking you to get yourself your own copy of music, books or whatever else. I'm sure the kid didn't mean to sound rude, he was just being practical and detached... Now whether that's a good sign or a bad sign or no sign at all... I'm really not sure. Somehow that conversation struck me... and in a way made me believe that Generation Fast Forward have ways of their own... ways that may shake you up at times.

I'm intimidated at times... sometimes amused!!!

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