My Maggi

The word Maggi takes me back some 20 years when Maggi noodles was almost my staple diet.


It was/is called "Maggi 2 minutes noodle". What fascinated me as a kid towards Maggi was that it was "yummy" when served hot alongside that ketchup. The very idea of taking in those long noodle stripes made it all the more exciting for breakfast.


But the thing that got me totally into Maggi was the Maggi club. Right behind the noodle packet there was a small note that encouraged kids like me to join the Maggi club. All that one had to do was to collect 5 Maggi packets and cut into the shape as shown below and mail it to their address.



In return they used send us amazing gifts and membership cards. Maggi only knows, but as years progressed I had amassed a few dozen cards, each had a small variation of my name. Like Uncle Pai for Tinkle comics, we had Doodle Dee for Maggi.



The sheer number of letters and goodies I used to get from Maggi made my postman very envious. My grandfather actually started calling me "Maggi Balasubramanian". Believe me until the age of 20 I used to get these goodies. Maggie birdhouse and jigsaw puzzle were some priced possessions and among my peers I was an avid collector of Maggi packets and goodies. There have been times when I used to get Maggi packets from my grandmother's place, neighbours, local trash and wherever I could get my hands on. Coming from a strict vegetarian family getting home an empty Maggi Chicken packet was a taboo. But I had to smuggle it in order to post those empty packets in exchange for those goodies.


Maggi was a rage during my early teens. Today Maggi is an emergency and pro-lazy man's food. All it requires is two minutes and that secretive Masala. When you are hungry and in no mood to go out or cook then Maggi is the best bet. This one item you'd find in almost every Indian household. Nowadays you'll find Maggi in various forms, from Atta noodles to Cup noodles but the taste remains the same. Mothers loved it as it was easy on them and they could customize it my adding loads and loads of vegetables to make sure their kids got all the nutrient intake.


This post is dedicated to Maggi and all you Maggi lovers out there. So have you eaten Maggi off late ?

Decision Engine: Bing

So the Microsoft folks are going to launch a better search engine which they call "Decision Engine"

http://www.decisionengine.com/Default.html

Bing.com will be out soon :-)

We will have to see what Google does now to refine !

Introducing Rampee

Here you go guys !

Rampee comes as this amazing designer whom you want to check out.

He is an interaction design student from NID and can be reached at his website and has his own personal blog as well.

Visit him at www.rampee.com

and his blog @ http://blog.rampee.com

Farming with folks at Ananya

Borrowed from my original post at Team Asha blog:
http://teamashablr.blogspot.com/2009/05/ananya-run-farming.html

To describe what Vinodh, a Team Asha Runner, says about Ananya

Ananya is a Magical place, and has so much to offer.. Today, It taught us farming. George was so enthusiastic to share with us the process/techniques. [Start->Programs->MicroSoft Farming??? - No] We ploughed the field, planted the Ginger/Bean sprouts, manured and watered them. This is the closest, I'll ever get to real-working for a while. Totally fulfilling experience.

Team Asha Rythu (Farming) Sangha: Sriram (Senior scientist), Vinodh, (The real farmer), Narmada (Officer on Spl.duty), Manjula (Female Senior Vice President), Banna (Apprentice), Sucksman Balu(PR)

Indeed it is. Some of Asha runners who have been running with the Ananya kids for over two month now have just been takne over by its sheer beauty and setting. Our beloved George is back and this Saturday we learned how to plant ginger and beans. How to make the ginger sprout a priori, how to plough the area, how to locate a shaded area and then how to place the ginger (spruoted region facing upside-down), and then how and where to place the manure (the manure is actually collected from the organic waste within Ananya) and the how to shade the enitre plouged region with dry leaves which by itself would become a manure in the coming weeks. Then we moved towards beans and our dear George explained on how to use the axe effectively and then how to place the bean seeds.



As Vinodh explains again:

It was only 9 am, and I was already having so much fun..

Shivamma's kitchen beckoned us. Idlies floating in Sambhar and hot masala tea.. Wow.. We discussed various things over breakfast. The group is getting crazier by the day. We'll take over Bangalore one day.

Read more on what Vinodh has to share here:
http://vinning.blogspot.com/2009/05/awesome-saturday.html


We are just waiting for all the kids come on 30th May and all set for the 31st Sunfeast run. Make no mistake, this doesn't stop here as this Asha-Ananya initiative is just the beginning and miles to go before we.....

Until then, Keep Miling ! Go Team Asha and Ananya ! All the very best for Sunfeast run on May 31st 2009 !


Canvas Shoe Update:
Some of the Asha runners who have been running with Ananya kids have also manged to raise enough funds to give all the kids at Ananya canvas running shoes. I've been talking to the higher-ups at "Bata" and they have agreed to give us canvas shoes at a discounted price. Once a very good discounted price is obtained I'll feature them for their gesture. Keep reading this space to know more !

Pic Courtesy: Vinodh's mobile camera phone.