Friday, February 24, 2006
The Gift of The Maggi
Half a bowl of rice and some curry. That was all. And the curry was 3 days old. He had looked in the fridge 3 times. It was his cooking turn. No vegetables. Even the 'sell by' date on milk was yesterday's. He had been in the US long enough to know that milk sours on the 'sell by' date. Half a bowl of rice and some curry, that was all he had. And he had an exam tomorrow.
He thought of his roommate. He would ask him to get groceries. He can quickly prepare some sabji if his roommate could get vegetables and paratha from the Indian store. Oh, but the roommate had a paper due this week. How could he forget. Must do something about this memory thing. He opened the fridge the fourth time, and cursed. And then he remembered. Oh, how could he forget. Last time they went to the Indian store, they had got a dozen packets at three packets a buck. He opened the cupboard above the stove, and looked behind the duct. Ah, there they were. The Maggi.
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The magi, as you know, were wise men - wonderfully wise men - who came "from the east" and brought gifts to the infant Jesus. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones. But the wisest of them all survived the test of time and travelled with the descendants of Jesus's messengers back to the east. And there, in the land of the last surviving magi, that gift was embraced by the people and was called "Maggi".
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Isn't it ironic that India is mad for Maggi, while Ramen is the 'top' brand in the US?
He thought of his roommate. He would ask him to get groceries. He can quickly prepare some sabji if his roommate could get vegetables and paratha from the Indian store. Oh, but the roommate had a paper due this week. How could he forget. Must do something about this memory thing. He opened the fridge the fourth time, and cursed. And then he remembered. Oh, how could he forget. Last time they went to the Indian store, they had got a dozen packets at three packets a buck. He opened the cupboard above the stove, and looked behind the duct. Ah, there they were. The Maggi.
---------------------------------------------------
The magi, as you know, were wise men - wonderfully wise men - who came "from the east" and brought gifts to the infant Jesus. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones. But the wisest of them all survived the test of time and travelled with the descendants of Jesus's messengers back to the east. And there, in the land of the last surviving magi, that gift was embraced by the people and was called "Maggi".
----
Isn't it ironic that India is mad for Maggi, while Ramen is the 'top' brand in the US?
Saturday, February 04, 2006
State of the Union and Patent Ideas
Last week while watching President Bush deliver the State of the Union address, I had some ideas which I would like to document here:
1. When I reached home at 9.15 pm and turned on the TV, I saw the President say something and the audience gave standing ovation, even the Vice President and Speaker who were chairing the assembly got up to applause. I was disappointed at missing the speech, but was also amazed at the State of the Union that it can be so short. Everybody knows that the Union has seen better times but was the state of the Union so bad that one can't even speak about it for more than a few minutes? But it turned out that I was too hasty in my apprehensions, the President continued his speech. For a few minutes I counted the number of times the audience stood up to applaud but then I lost the count. The White House website, which records the speech has counted 66 applause in the 51 minute speech. For most of these applause atleast the republican part of the audience stood up, and many times the democrats also joined them.
This gave me a valuable insight into the demographics of American politics. We often compare Indian politicians with American and wonder at the youth and energy of American politicians. No wonder speeches like State of the Union ensure that only the young and fit can survive in American politics. To applaud 66 times in 51 minutes, one not only needs strong hands but strong knees too (no place for Vajpayeeji here), as one has to get up to applaud. And when goings get tough, like after 9/11, the system ensures that only tough people survive by having 76 applause in 53 minutes for 2002 State of the Union. Thus, with a simple tradition like this a nation can ensure that its leaders are young and fit.
2. If you are looking for the reason that USA is still the country of dreams, of freedom and of possibilities for poor and repressed around the globe, look no further. The water fountain outside your office, or classrooms, or at the airports, or at the convention center is reason enough. The omnipresent water fountains symbolize the hope this country offers to people, that they will not be crushed by the large corporations, by the capitalists, by the powerful; that even when the government is heavily influenced by large corporations, the soft-drinks companies cannot deny basic amenities like free water to the common people. The barely audible hum of a water fountain tells the story of victory of a modern David over Goliath, of the victory of masses over large corporations.
When the whole world is watching the President deliver State of the Union address, with the hope of deliverance from the tyrants, hoping for true democracy, it is regrettable that the President ignores the very symbol of democracy - the water fountain - and chooses to drink water out of a glass.
We propose to develop and manufacture a microphone and podium with in-built water fountain. With a simple push of a button the speaker can start the fountain, and the strategically placed microphone, which doubles as the fountain, can direct a stream of water in the speaker's open mouth. This is especially useful for the President, as while he drinks water, he can keep an eye on the audience and note who didn't get up to applause. And since the President didn't (or is it can't?) read from notes, there is no fear of their getting wet. For speakers who prefer to read from notes, we can have two tops for the podium. One of them can be coated with teflon, so that it doesn't get wet, and water flows off it easily. The other (lower) one can be a temporary receptacle for notes, to be used when the water fountain is on. The teflon top can be slanted towards speaker, but it will be rather deep to stop both notes and water from overflowing.
1. When I reached home at 9.15 pm and turned on the TV, I saw the President say something and the audience gave standing ovation, even the Vice President and Speaker who were chairing the assembly got up to applause. I was disappointed at missing the speech, but was also amazed at the State of the Union that it can be so short. Everybody knows that the Union has seen better times but was the state of the Union so bad that one can't even speak about it for more than a few minutes? But it turned out that I was too hasty in my apprehensions, the President continued his speech. For a few minutes I counted the number of times the audience stood up to applaud but then I lost the count. The White House website, which records the speech has counted 66 applause in the 51 minute speech. For most of these applause atleast the republican part of the audience stood up, and many times the democrats also joined them.
This gave me a valuable insight into the demographics of American politics. We often compare Indian politicians with American and wonder at the youth and energy of American politicians. No wonder speeches like State of the Union ensure that only the young and fit can survive in American politics. To applaud 66 times in 51 minutes, one not only needs strong hands but strong knees too (no place for Vajpayeeji here), as one has to get up to applaud. And when goings get tough, like after 9/11, the system ensures that only tough people survive by having 76 applause in 53 minutes for 2002 State of the Union. Thus, with a simple tradition like this a nation can ensure that its leaders are young and fit.
2. If you are looking for the reason that USA is still the country of dreams, of freedom and of possibilities for poor and repressed around the globe, look no further. The water fountain outside your office, or classrooms, or at the airports, or at the convention center is reason enough. The omnipresent water fountains symbolize the hope this country offers to people, that they will not be crushed by the large corporations, by the capitalists, by the powerful; that even when the government is heavily influenced by large corporations, the soft-drinks companies cannot deny basic amenities like free water to the common people. The barely audible hum of a water fountain tells the story of victory of a modern David over Goliath, of the victory of masses over large corporations.
When the whole world is watching the President deliver State of the Union address, with the hope of deliverance from the tyrants, hoping for true democracy, it is regrettable that the President ignores the very symbol of democracy - the water fountain - and chooses to drink water out of a glass.
We propose to develop and manufacture a microphone and podium with in-built water fountain. With a simple push of a button the speaker can start the fountain, and the strategically placed microphone, which doubles as the fountain, can direct a stream of water in the speaker's open mouth. This is especially useful for the President, as while he drinks water, he can keep an eye on the audience and note who didn't get up to applause. And since the President didn't (or is it can't?) read from notes, there is no fear of their getting wet. For speakers who prefer to read from notes, we can have two tops for the podium. One of them can be coated with teflon, so that it doesn't get wet, and water flows off it easily. The other (lower) one can be a temporary receptacle for notes, to be used when the water fountain is on. The teflon top can be slanted towards speaker, but it will be rather deep to stop both notes and water from overflowing.
