Oodles of Noodles

Has anyone tried the new Maggi Dal Atta Noodles???? It is to borrow an expression from Stilettoes 'craptacular'. I have always been a great follower of Maggi instant noodles and at the age of 4 along with Thums Up, it used to be my dinner on Sunday evenings. Maggi has rolled many stones since then (literally) - people accused Maggi of clogging gall bladders and small intestines and for malfunctioning livers. When I had a stomach upset at the age of 5, the doctor reeled under the shock of discovering my Sunday dinner Maggi habits for the past one year. Maggi was banned instantly.

Life was difficult and not worth living without Maggi - the advertisements on TV made it difficult for 5 year old A. Chatterjee to forget. Grief overcame me and when my parents found that I was but a shadow of my former self, they yielded...a Maggi a month they decided was not going to send me packing to the doctor again.....

So, I indulged...in Maggi Sweet and Sour flavour (that remains till date my favourite) and Chicken flavour and Masala (that's one the that has survived the see-saw of time) Then, there was Maggi Shrimp and Maggi Kheer (don't remember the exact name now - but it was a sweet flavoured horror) that I gave up after one try. As soon as the factories churned out new flavours and television announced it, it found its way into my intestines. Maggi and I were inseparable.

When we went to visit my super rich uncle - we played Genie and Aladin. He said I could ask for anything under the sun - i thought for thirty minutes and asked for Maggi noodles.

Then Nestle came up with Maggi Tomato and Maggi Curry - but they didn't tickle the palate much. I was into my teens at this time, and the only flavour that was easily available was Maggi Masala. It was too spicy for me and for a while I thought, I was going to give up the one food that I had declared as my all time favourite.

In the meantime, the pretenders were baring their fangs - I hated Top Ramen, but I got lured by Cup Noodles. For a while it seemed that I was going to fall prey to the charms to Cup Noodles vegetables flavour. That was before the great trip that turned me into a true Bharatiya.

Flung into a land half way across the world, where people counted their money in dollars and drank Starbucks coffee, I rediscovered Maggi noodles, paying for it at a premium price at Indian stores. It was the only food that I knew how to cook and for me Maggi spelt survival. Luckily, a few angles disguised as super chefs came to my rescue and I was once again eating 'ghar-ka-khana', but I could never repay my debt to Maggi.

Back home, there is a new flavour in vogue -Maggi Atta vegetable noodles - great taste and yummy - and considering that it is not made of flour , I also feel less guilty about having it. I am also looking forward to trying the Maggi Rice Noodles. But Maggi Dal Atta noodles yesterday morning, was a blot on the history of Maggi and sambhar. I love my Dosa and Idli and I think nothing makes the taste better than a bowl of well prepared sambhar. Maggi Daal Atta noodles is an insult to the holy sambhar and should be stopped. But what next? Shall we now have a Maggi Biriyani noodles? Maggi fish flavoured noodles?

I simply think that I am lucky to have been born at a time when they decided to invent something like Maggi for us common folk!!! Thank you God!!! Even though, you did not time our exit from the World Cup 2007 too well, you did a darn good job about timing my existence!!!!