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My experiment with Rs5.


                                           By Prerna Mishra 

                      (written in college 5th sem, 2013)


In last 31 years, they have only asked for your 2 minutes, now as an added topping with just Rs5 in your pocket.

 In the interiors of Jharkhand, a true Indian village lacking in almost everything, where survival is with bare minimum resources, Life goes on because it has to.

A few government schools established under “Sarva Siksha Abhiyan” shabby building, teacher sits outside the classroom with hand-fan. I saw Students having their cherished meal. A big bus carrying thousands of packets, parked outside the school. Yes it was Maggi; these children were having and of course free of cost. Mid-day meals have perhaps become very boring for these children! They too deserve the fun, which city children enjoy out of Maggi.

   An initiative taken by Nestle to feed thousands of school going children in villages spread across the country. Is Switzerland repaying black money by feeding all poor mouths of India?No, it was not. 

Within a span of a month, these very children are addicted to having Maggi everyday. And, then those big buses move out of that village in search of some other victims. Abandoned kids cry everyday for Rs5. They no longer enjoy home cooked foods. Their parents are trapped, the money meant for buying fresh vegetables is buying Maggi instead. This marketing strategy blew my head.


I realised that wherever you go, they follow, the tag line of Vodafone. It was being complimented by products like Maggi, Pepsi, Kurkure and Lays. These FMCG products were really moving fast. Even if, it is some remote area or some adventurous tourist spot.The tourist might take hours to reach that adventurous spot but Maggi packets are already hanging. If you are tired enough, you can have them by paying double the price. 

I remember, I visited the Nohkalikai falls in Shillong, with my entire family.The cold wind made us shiver very badly. If we were lucky enough the fog would subside showing the falls. I waited impatiently, on those isolated mountains. Moving here and there for a clear view. I caught better one. My siblings were busy having Maggi and chips. This was it! Wherever you go, how so ever the place is, don’t worry. You will get Maggi.

Julius Maggi. What a creation I must say!In 1884 Julius Maggi and Fridolin Schuler thought of improving the nutritional content of foods consumed by working class. They came up with noodles made of leguminous flour. The objective was to look after health conditions of workers in Switzerland. This was soon forgotten. When the company merged with nestle in 1947. In 1982 Maggi brought the noodle culture in India. Very soon, the traditional food lost the battle against junk food. Now it occupies more than 75% of 2500 crore market.


Ohh yes aabhi! Priyanka Chopra, Ranbir Kapoor and Dhoni. They all are asking you to grab your Pepsi right now. Ranbir Kapoor charges 3 crore for saying that. You can do your calculation now!


I visited one of these soft-drink companies official website. It said, “We give more than we take”. I couldn’t stop smiling. Jokes on official pages! Million litres of freshwater are taken out everyday to clean the bottles and make carbonated coloured water. The farmers of south India were affected badly by the plants set up by these industries. The big motors took out million litres of fresh water and left the farmers with nothing at all. The World Bank reported that if the water consumption continues at the current level by these MNC, fresh water would be depleted by 2050 in India. So alarming is the scenario.


I wonder why nobody speaks out. I am not writing this article to make you hate these companies. I believe companies will be coming in and moving out. What if there remains no resource to exploit? All I want to say is let's have a sustainable development. There should be strict laws be it in agricultural or waste management. A proper collaboration with locals and environment, can make the bond even stronger.

These MNC products are more than just products for us.We connect emotionally with them and the same is expected out of them.

The new advertisements can be on results of Social corporate responsibility also. Dancing Katrina Kaif is not a must for advertisements. The fancy packet made out of cutting thousand trees has lost the conspicuousness.We need you to take care of our environment.

Lets play the fair game. No hidden conditions applied. The game of sustainable development. Take our care and we will take yours.



Comments

  1. Manish25 June 2013 at 22:21

    That's why I always say "Swadeshi Apnao Desh Bachao". A very nice & informative article Prerna. Thanks a lot...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown25 June 2013 at 23:06

    Thank you Manish. Time to rise up!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous27 June 2013 at 21:54

    Nice article. Here some stats :):-

    A cold drink that costs only 70 / 80 paisa to produce, is sold for Rs.9 and a major chunk of profits from these are sent abroad. This is a serious drain on INDIAN economy.

    What we can do about it?
    1. Buy only products manufactured by WHOLLY INDIAN COMPANIES.
    2. We don't need to give-up your lifestyle. We just need to choose an alternate product.
    All categories of products are available from

    WHOLLY INDIAN COMPANIES.
    LIST OF PRODUCTS
    COLD DRINKS:-
    DRINK LEMON JUICE, FRESH FRUITJUICES, CHILLED LASSI (SWEET OR SOUR), BUTTER MILK, COCONUT WATER, JAL JEERA, ENERJEE,and MASALA MILK...
    INSTEAD OF COCA COLA, PEPSI, LIMCA, MIRINDA, SPRITE

    BATHING SOAP:-
    USE CINTHOL & OTHER GODREJ BRANDS, SANTOOR, WIPRO SHIKAKAI, MYSORE SANDAL, MARGO, NEEM, EVITA, MEDIMIX, GANGA , NIRMA BATH & CHANDRIKA
    INSTEAD OF LUX, LIFEBUOY, REXONA, LIRIL, DOVE, PEARS, HAMAM, LESANCY, CAMAY, PALMOLIVE

    TOOTH PASTE:-
    USE NEEM, BABOOL, PROMISE, VICO VAJRADANTI, PRUDENT, DABUR PRODUCTS, MISWAK
    INSTEAD OF COLGATE, CLOSE UP, PEPSODENT, CIBACA, FORHANS, MENTADENT.

    TOOTH BRUSH: -
    USE PRUDENT, AJANTA , PROMISE
    INSTEAD OF COLGATE, CLOSE UP, PEPSODENT, FORHANS, ORAL-B

    SHAVING CREAM:-
    USE GODREJ, EMAMI
    INSTEAD OF PALMOLIVE, OLD SPICE, GILLETE

    BLADE:-
    USE SUPERMAX, TOPAZ, LAZER, ASHOKA
    INSTEAD OF SEVEN-O -CLOCK, 365, GILLETTE

    TALCUM POWDER:-
    USE SANTOOR, GOKUL, CINTHOL, WIPRO BABY POWDER, BOROPLUS
    INSTEAD OF PONDS, OLD SPICE, JOHNSON'S BABY POWDER, SHOWER TO SHOWER

    MILK POWDER:-
    USE INDIANA, AMUL, AMULYA
    INSTEAD OF ANIKSPRAY, MILKANA, EVERYDAY MILK, MILKMAID.

    SHAMPOO:-
    USE NIRMA, VELVETTE
    INSTEAD OF HALO, ALL CLEAR, NYLE, SUNSILK, HEAD AND SHOULDERS, PANTENE

    MOBILE CONNECTIONS:-
    USE BSNL, AIRTEL , RELIANCE .
    INSTEAD OF Vodafone

    Food Items:-
    Eat Tandoori chicken . home made food
    INSTEAD OF KFC, MACDONALD'S, PIZZA HUT, A&W

    ReplyDelete
  4. Prerna Mishra27 June 2013 at 22:17

    hey anonymous......i completely agree with you and so this article makes an effort to highlight, how these MNC enters and drains out the country. May it be natural resources or credit they are taking everything away.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous2 July 2013 at 13:01

    You are saying you are trying to highlight the apparent "drain"in the Indian Economy, but your article is too vague and loosely tossed together for anyone to understand the "hidden" intent of your article. First of all, work on your grammar. It makes the meaning of one sentence so different than what you had actually intended.
    What were those random comments about Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif "dancing"? I am very sure you don't know anything about advertising and if you did, I'm sorry but your take on it is blasphemous. Maggi and pepsi aren't conspiracies, they are business. A business has to thrive. They aren't forcing people to buy their producut, and honestly it is ridicuously naiive for you to think that they are influecing children! If you really think that way than why just maggi? lets talk about your TV shows (I presume you watch some of them)... SO the content in those shows are to influence? The world is a conspiracy and we are poverty stricken because of MNC's. This view in not only generic but also kind of sad to hear from a youngster who claims to be an advocate for the betterment of the country.
    Ever heard of a capitslist society? Or globalisation? Well, we signed on for this. And tell you what, at the risk of being subject to your enimity, capitalism is good. It thrives in competion, and betters our own country.
    On a last note, please take up psychology or atleast google some theories. To get people ADDICTED to maggi would take more than distribution of free maggi. RIDICULOUS. Please try to stick to one topic. Your article was almosy incoherenyt. Good luck.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Prerna Mishra2 July 2013 at 23:07

      Even Adam Smith would find it hard to believe that capitalism turned out so unhealthy. For people like you who do not understand the meaning of social corporate responsibility, obviously are enchanted by seeing stars and buying products.
      when we signed for globalization, there were certain conditions applied.
      The most important being we wont let them play with our people and resources.
      Development at the cost of ill-health, water pollution and environment degradation is not development that is illusion to fool people like you. I have nothing to say much but 10 years down the line, when your child will have no water to drink because these MNC have drained them out! Then you can take your time and think about marketing and business. Good luck dear

      Delete
  6. Anonymous2 July 2013 at 13:04

    almost incoherent *

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Prerna Mishra2 July 2013 at 23:12

      may be incoherent for you because the article did not turn out as you wanted it to be. Learn to face the truth.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous3 July 2013 at 00:21

    I am not a part of this conversation but it seems the anonymous is some English teacher. As he/she is only concerned with grammar n language. While the blog author talks about ideas n visions. I kinda agree with the blog author...sustainable dev is the word dude !!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Unknown9 July 2013 at 22:11

    i read it completely today...i wish your voice can reach the higher authorities who have self-consumed themselves in greed and the lust for money.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Prerna Mishra10 July 2013 at 01:47

    really a long path to travel, if it has to reach the higher authority!!
    i will be really glad if i can bring this evil game played by such big companies.
    hope so when like minded people join the crusade to change the world. we will!
    THANK YOU

    ReplyDelete
  10. a monk's vision29 July 2013 at 10:57

    first of all wanna thank you for digging out such a root level facts & infos.Now if I furnish it with visulization as well dub in regional languages and focast it to all the accessble remote areas;so that each and every living-statues can watch it.I am sure all of them gonna start a rally or procession opposing all the FMCG products like maggie in SSA's educational institutes.But who will do that ?? I strongly support the concept of "Sustainable Devlopment".But their are some sustainable factors which alwys restricts "S.D."..the strong elements of sustainable factors are gov.,population, lack of literacy snd so on.I know I am sailing a bit far from context;as you have mentioned about the addiction of childrens towards "Maggie'.So ultimately ma 18 fingers out of 20 will point towards our Gov.wanted to say a lot on this regard but time is running out..got some urgent stuff to do..so gotta go. But thanks Prerna for such a morphinable thought with nos. of factual infos. I am keen
    to go through your next no..good luck..1 more thing we should know the innovation can't be leran or taught..Wtih due respect I just want recall the old saying that we should appreciate & help the new findings rather than piking out the tiny mistakes; which neils down the upcoming innovative ideas and thoughts.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Prerna Mishra29 July 2013 at 12:31

    Thank you for visiting my blog. i do appreciate your thoughts. when i talk about sustainable development, i do include quality education. for i believe, education is the tool which can empower human to its summit. with right education will come right judgement and so everything else.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Unknown23 August 2013 at 16:18

    #WE ARE THE FUTURE OF INDIA#
    From our childhood,we used to hear these words from our guardians,teachers or any respected persons,,we also become glad on that words,,but do we want this type of future of our country?According to government data in india about 20% children dies before their birth because of our medical failure and irresponsibility of our government,,,,,,,,,,,,,in which direction our future is growing??what will happen of our future,not only this,in many states like bihar,jharkhand ,in this states there is no primary food available for kids ,,,they don't even think for their education.It's my personal experience by a small village in jharkhand. Government is not only for administration but it is also for taking care of our people ,but in this age ,i think these are only sayings.But if we'll take our responsibility ,the day is not so far when our country will again be called "A GOLDEN BIRD".

    This blog is not for making noise for failure of our government or crying for it..but my purpose is to make some change,,yes we can do,,we will do ,,it ..our purpose should be only doing our work perfactally ..and in any ways we should serve our country ,,either being a great engineer,doctor ,,,leader or sportsperson ..just do ur job perfactlally ,,such a job because of which whole world will talk about you and your country will proud of u...


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Prerna Mishra23 August 2013 at 20:44

      POSITIVE CHANGE is the mantra ...we all need to believe that we are a positive change..i am glad you think this way. This blog is not blaming any body but showing how things have gone wrong...its just a wake up call.
      Recognizing the problem to solve it

      Delete
  13. Unknown23 August 2013 at 16:34

    I appreciate your thinking,it's incredible .But i think we also should take some responsibility and should learn our duties..

    ReplyDelete
  14. Prerna Mishra23 August 2013 at 20:36

    Thank you so much for going through my article ...
    yes i do agree with you that "our duties" is forgotten term ...this blog is an endeavor to bring into cognizance the issues that touch our lives and have gone astray.
    WORDS THAT MATTER!!

    ReplyDelete

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