"In our zamaana, we used to have an ice-cream, a handful of chana and a movie of Dilip Kumar, all for 4 annas."
- a typical dadaji in an Indian household reminiscing his good old days.
Dadaji finds it hard to type emails to his son living abroad. He still prefers the good old days of letter writing. He prefers rummaging through pages of daily newspaper expressing shock, anger and frustration at the state of things. He calls modern malls artificial air conditioned tombs and prefers to stay indoors. Dadiji cajoles him to do certain things for the sake of children’s khushi and Dadaji reluctantly agrees.
Consumerism in India has increased tenfold in the last ten years. There are more soaps, oils, underwears and condoms than ever before. Dadaji’s abhorrence is quite understandable. In his zamaana, he had lesser options but he was quite content with what he got. In his good old days, ice creams were the only things which had flavours. He is being told by many, now even non edible things have flavours. Dadaji doesn’t understand all this. He sits through television commercials with a grimace on his face while his teenaged grandson devours it like an eye candy.
I feel the species of Daadajis like above is in its last phase. I can only visualize bigger malls, more multiplexes, more television channels, more gadgets in the years to come. This review is a testimony to consumerism as I have seen it grow in my not so short lifespan of 30 odd years. Unlike our Daadaji, we would never rue the fact that things cost a fortune. We are out there to grab it if we have pockets deep enough. Or at least touch it. Or smell it. We know we have a small life. And even if we use a different soap daily, we would still be left with more soaps to try before we die!
Brands are a tradition of sorts. Most of the brands have stayed with me because my parents used that and as kids we had no option other than follow what our parents used. If you ask me, no toothpaste gives you more freshness than a Binaca or Cibaca. Later, it disappeared. And if it is still there, I am not aware. Blame the advertising world. Long before Television invaded our houses, people were more selective and went by their own judgements. Now, it’s a flashy ad or skimpily clad model which provokes you to buy a product. And since there are too many products to choose from, people like to experiment. So, the brand loyalty has gone down. A close-up in January because it has a cool ad coming on TV. A colgate in February because they are giving a free toothbrush. If I hate Aamir, I don’t drink Coke(at least in public!). If I love SRK, I am mad to know which brand of underwear he uses.
Celebrities have grown in numbers – thanks to the electronic media. In this mad rush, companies are finding it hard to retain their consumers. Until Kiwi Shoe polish came, Cherry Blossom was a unanimous choice. I remember polishing my school shoes with it. And I still do it with a variety of options they have now – liquid polish, scrubber, and general polish. But yes, I don’t drive a 20 miles if its out of stock in the nearby departmental store. I just pick up a Kiwi. You said it. Necessity is what rules your purchasing. But there are still some brands which have retained their loyalists.
In each sector, be it FMCG, Automobiles, Cosmetics – there has been a pioneer. Later, with the economic liberalization, there were competitors. So, as I said earlier, the 90s, courtesy Mr. Manmohan Singh saw a huge splurge in MNCs launching their products in India. Coupled with a boom in Information Technology, there were sleeker and slicker items in the market. Now, we blame the slightest fault in an electronic item. We blame the mobile service providers for a congestion in the network. And go on to sites like MS to vent our anger. We hate slow download speeds. We can’t wait. We just CAN’T!
Coming back to our beloved Daadaji, he still screams on the phone when he is told that his son has called from America. Don’t blame him if optical fibres have replaced normal lines. He is used to the days when MTNL ruled and you had to place a trunk call request. Daadaji still uses the neem leaves to brush his teeth and Daadiji - the turmeric or tulsi patta to cure bruises and cough. The manufacturers are busy telling us that they have used the SEVEN(?) natural remedies in their products. They have bottled the nature and want us to believe that we are living a fine balance between the past and the current.
Some of the brands which have stayed with me:
Horlicks, Borolin, Rin, Surf, Godrej, Maruti, Pond’s, Dabur, Philips, Lux, Vicks, Nivea, Good Knight, Harpic, Ezee, Old Spice, Olive Oil, Parle, Dettol,Iodex, ….
Some which betrayed me:
Binaca(Later Cibaca), Odomos, Daalda, Savlon, Saffola, Postman, The good old phenyl, 555 detergent cake, Lifebuoy, Rexona, Vicco, Wipro Shikakai, Bajaj, Palmolive, Huggies, Nirodh, Whisper(you know why!)…
Horlicksrules the list. I know there are Complan loyalists. I know there are Bournvita loyalists. But I have always returned to Horlicks after a slight phase of infidelity. It helps if your wife follows the same tradition as your mom. My mom served me Horlicks. My wife does the same to my 5 year old.
Iodex. Yes. The stains have remained and Amrutanjan and Moov have given it a tough competition. But nothing works like Iodex. Only if you can survive the smell and stains.
Pond’s. This is one brand which makes me nostalgic. I still remember my visits as a child to the kirana store with my mom. And she unfailingly, ordered it – Haan bhaisaab, ek Pond’s. Winter approached and we used to wait for the Pond’s cold cream to arrive. I still remember their lime and lemon odour cream which I smelt more than apply on my skin.
Borolin. Dad almost used a tube of Borolin a week. That reminds me about Dettol. It was the most widely used antiseptic in liquid form. And Borolin in cream form. I can still not look beyond these two. There have been all kinds of antiseptics which have an added flavour(poor Daadaji!), but Dettol and Borolin rule for me.
I know this can go and on with my favourite brands and not so favourite brands. But I guess the comments section is the right place to discuss YOUR favourite and not so favourite brands. Brands which have stayed with you and brands which have betrayed you. Over to YOU!
