Me & Meri Maggi

I have my own Me & Meri Maggi story to share.

Wait, let's back up a sec. What is Maggi? Maggi is basically ramen (instant noodles) for the Indian tastebuds. The basic Maggi is "masala" flavored. Obviously, as a person who is super lazy and can't cook, I eat Maggi with greater frequency than I should. Maggi was an integral part of my diet in Delhi, and it still is in Shimla. Yeah, I'm that ramen-eating grad student, but without the grad school.

traditional Masala Maggi: my source of sustenance.

And what is a "Me & Meri Maggi" story? Basically Me & Meri Maggi is Maggi's 25th anniversary ad campaign. Maggi eaters send in their personal Maggi stories ("meri" = "my" in Hindi), and the best stories get "published" on the backs of packs, made into commercials, or featured on the Maggi website. It is best explained by this video:

Now for my Me & Meri Maggi story:

Recently (as in a few months ago), Maggi came out with new flavors. Somehow some of these new flavors managed to be better--significantly better, in my opinion--than the original Masala flavor. I didn't know such a feat was possible, but I can't get enough of Tricky Tomato or Thrillin' Curry.

new Maggi flavors. om nom nom.

Unfortunately, neither can the rest of Sanjauli. I can never find Tricky Tomato or Thrillin' Curry. The general shops (as they are called; basically, little convenience stores) (Sanjauli doesn't have grocery stores) carry only a limited supply of the new flavors, and they are almost always sold out. Except of the Romantic Capsica flavor. Because honestly, who really wants capsicum-flavored instant noodles? And who thinks of capsicum as "romantic"? That was a poor choice, Maggi.

More times than I'd like to admit I visited every single general shop in Sanjauli in search of Tricky Tomato or Thrillin' Curry. And most of those times, I came up empty-handed and had to buy regular Masala Maggi. One time I got so frustrated with the search I even called my mom to whine. "I can't find Tricky Tomato Maggi! And I visited 20 shops already!" "Why don't you just buy a different flavor?" "Becaaaaauuuse I want Tricky Tomaaatoooooo! Waaaaah!" This is how I waste money on long-distance phone calls: calling from India to the States to complain about the unavailability of instant noodle flavors.

(By the way, a few minutes ago I talked to my mom on the phone and told her about this blog post I'm currently writing, and she claimed to have zero recollection of this conversation. I swear I'm not crazy, it really happened. She probably doesn't remember because at the time she was bored of my trivial noodle dilemma and zoning out.)

One time I found a general shop that actually had numerous Tricky Tomato packs (usually, since there is such high demand and such low supply, shops only have 1 or 2 left, if they have any at all, which they most often don't). I shamelessly bought every single one, so that I could hoard for the future. I have returned to this same shop multiple times in hopes of restocking my kitchen, but alas they have been sold out of both Tricky Tomato and Thrillin' Curry every single time.

So, Maggi makers: fix your distribution! Send more Tricky Tomato and Thrillin' Curry to Sanjauli!! I promise my demand can single-handedly consume your entire supply. For the entire town. Pinky promise.

I hope this tale of desperation ends up on the back of a Maggi pack one day.

(PS: "2-minute" noodles is a lie, especially here at altitude. It takes well over 2 minutes for my water to even boil! I'd say making Maggi takes me 8 minutes. And even in Delhi, which does not have the slow-cooking-at-altitude problem, it took me 5 minutes. I'm fairly certain making Maggi in 2 minutes is not possible. Maggi, I know you know I'll eat you anyway, but I don't appreciate false advertising. Please stop lying to me!)

(PPS: I'm aware that this blog post could come across as an ad for Maggi. I promise they are not paying me to write this. It's just that Maggi is such an important part of my life in India I thought I should share this with you all. ...I realize how pathetic I sound.)

(PPPS: This is my life: Maggi and monkeys. If you ever had the idea that my life in India was full of glamor and adventure, you thought wrong. My life is full of instant noodles and simian shit.)

(PPPPS: When I first wrote this post, I spelled everything the British way without even realizing it, e.g. flavour, glamour. I've been in India too long.)