My earliest account of Maggi; goes back in time; the year 1996 when I and a good friend George used to prepare for the Maggi quiz competition at school. Giving the prelims for the quiz which generally was a pen and paper exam was very fascinating. Several times we have resurrected from where we thought had lost it; and have made it to win the cash prize they used to offer then.
A young fellow; Mr. Q as he is known even today was the quiz master then. He had just graduated and decided to become a full time quiz master rather than opting in for a corporate job. George and I managed to crack his questions and puzzles to win with flying colours to become the Numero Uno in our school. But that wasn’t the end of it. We had to appear for the inter school competition at the district level and then at the state level. Either of us were not good with academics and have lost it at the district level. We won at our school for 2 consecutive years. In the second year we left the venue hopeless where in someone later informed us that, we were actually the sixth shortlisted team.
Perhaps you know the feeling of waiting for those exquisite 2 minutes of Maggi to be served hot, after you are back from school.
I have relished the recent Maggi ad portraying a little girl named Raj Kumari. The impressions it had left in the young minds and of our mothers of this country has been illusory to make it a Love Mark. In the deepest parts of my heart and mind, I had a portrait of Maggi frozen and preserved, which today has fallen to umpteen pieces and scattered all over the floor.
A great job done by marketers; but heart bleeds; mind roars with angst; the government bans and the country withdraws into a deep silence. Mothers are guilty of being ignorant; a grave delinquency on young children; the ambassadors ashamed but the question is why wasn’t this done before the product was introduced in the market. Were the administrators asleep or are they corrupt? Either ways the FSSAI (Food safety and standards authority of India) is responsible.
Today’s Times of India reported that Maggi has cleared the lead test in Karnataka and won’t be banned. At the same time The Hindu reported a temporary ban on Maggi in the state. Such irregularities in the information reported by the media places the readers in an enigma. Having said that; it’s up to the parents to decide what food to be given to their children. While emotionally I would want to provide an opportunity to Maggi to prove themselves because of the long standing memoirs; as a parent I will take several steps back and would refrain my child from having Maggi.