Super (fluous) Markets

It has become fashionable now to talk about how supermarkets (that started out as organized retail establishments bringing to consumers better and cheaper products due to economies of scale) are encroaching every aspect of life and forcing 'mom and pop stores' and farmers out of business.

Is there a Life without supermarkets?

There is a trend...albiet subtle...to move back to the old way of shopping devoid of endless aisles in a standardized environment burgeoning with products that one (really) does not need and giving consumers the agony (well they tout is as 'freedom') of making choices...which they really do not need to go through...and I'm talking as a consumer here.

We all like to have a choice and I would not rubbish the concept completely...but I am not for spending 15 mins with over 20 brands and variants of bread staring back at me...each wishpering 'pick me up'. It is confusing and an un-necessary waste of my mind.

A friend of mine and I were chatting how about any...and I mean any...trip to the supermarket eats up no less than 1 hour of our time and no less than 5 pounds or the equivalent of that...and this is even if i chant my mantra 10 times before entering.. "I will not buy anything off my list...will not buy unnecessary products'. That money and time could surely be put to better use.

There is brownbread, wholewheat, white bread...each of these in three variants...they are sliced medium, thick and extra thin... with atleast 2 pack sizes....that is already 3 *3*2 combinations. When we take into considerations brands within each of these...you cant imagine how many packets of bread you'd find on the aisle. An these are breads for normal people. Then there are ones that are gluten free, low fat, low sugar, low salt and low everything....Then there are the exotic varieties...irish soda bread....croissants....baguettes...hot cross buns...scones....burger buns....rolls...pita bread...pita wholewheat and I am not exaggerating when i say I could write a whole post on breads alone.

If we look at cleaners...you'd find seperate liquid cleaners for the kitchen, one for the window, one for bathrooms, one of the shower area....and then there is an all purpose cleaner...so what may i ask will happen if I used the kitchen cleaner in the bathroom...or the surface top cleaner for my windows...after all I am just spraying the same liquid and wiping right? I am not sure how many people think like i do...but I've actually seen people buy and stock 3 variants of cleaners at home.

My favourite activity these days therefore is to walk around the super market ailes and spot strange products....i know it eats up into my time but I have a lot of it anyway and believe me its a very entertaining way to pass time. Here are a few of my hot favourties.

1. Decorative Sand....1.69 pounds....it looks to me like it is ordinary sand found by the beach side....packadged into a transparent looking bucket with a lid...fortunately it does not come with any on the pack information on how to best use it or a website that you could login to for more information on it.

2. Night time milk....after soy, rice, milk with omega 3 and fat free variants.....lo and behold...we have a specially packaged milk that one can drink at night! And they even give you a reason....thats because it has high melatonin....that sleep inducing enzyme that some lucky people have too much of. And it goes on to say that since melatonin is anyway produced less during the day...having it during the day will not make one feel sleepy. I'm sure by extension there'll be a market for 'wake up milk' for people who just cant get out of bed...with melatonin absorbing enzymes...is anybody listening.

3. This one takes the cake...and it is 'ironing water'....with an influsion of lychee extracts and jasmine. To start with i question that combination of fragrances...lychee and jasmine...I am sure they could have done better...I even turned to the back-of-the-pack information to see whether lychee and jasmine have any special properties for which they deserve the pride of place in the ironing water...and they don't! Coming to the product attributes itself...it is to be sprinkled ahead of ironing to infuse your clothes with a fragrance that will last you all day long. The next time your neighbourhood dhobi sprinkles water out of his humble brass tumbler before ironing...ask him to get a little creative and pluck a few jasmines from his back garden....to infuse your clothes with fragrance of the local flora...but then again dont complain if he charges you a premium !

Categories: Wandering Around_

Just another day....

It started off being just another day...I checked my mail with my morning cup of coffee perched next to the mouse on my workdesk. There was a time not so long ago when mornings did not begin with checking email....and I cant help but wonder how things and life change so drastically in such a short span of time. But thats a different thread best left to a different time.

So, the morning moved in a 'normal' way....reading, surfing, work, chat and breakfast all intespresed by the occassional click on the mailbox. Even while i was going through the motions I wondered why the frequency with which mails were coming in was thinner than most days. I chatted briefly with a few friends online and started to type a mail to a friend when it struck me close to 12 noon that it is a holiday in India.

I could not get over the fact that I have been away from the country about 10 days and I have forgotten...I immediately messaged to a friend online....

Me: are you at work today???
i am shocked
isnt it independance day

Friend: yes mam..independence day for the country and not for citizen..

Me: i dont believe it
you are working on independance day

Friend: well..something need to be believed..
well..i came in to office at 3 pm...the rest came in the morning..
some pstns need to go this week ..so we are putting in xtra efforts...

We chatted for a while ranting about the weather in london and the work life in bangalore and how somethings never change and how appalled i was at myself for having no awareness of the fact that today in an important day in india...and then it struck me....and i felt like a bigger fool

Me: btw - it is republic day today....and we both chatted about it for a min or two without batting an eyelid...what have we come to....we cannot distinguish between independence day and repulic day

Friend:actually i did not pay attention to the word you typed in

Me: but you said independence for the country not for the country men

Friend: yah ..classic absentmindedness

Anyway....as i write this, i think its not only 'just another day' for the indian diaspora but also for most people in India. Barring the coverage of the repulic day parade on the national news that now even our parents dont watch, the new breed of patriotic movies bordering commercial flicks (read: dil se, sawdes) that make for good post lunch entertainment, beggar children on the road selling the tricolor and sweetshops and departmental stores creating special sweets and window displays to celeberate the spirit of freedom...life goes on as usual...for the most who are lucky not to work even on a national holiday...it is a 'holiday'...to catch up on sleep and the laundry...

When I was growing up, republic day was one of the many big and exciting days we looked forward to. I have fond memories of those times when on such days people from the neighbourhood gathered early morning (yes people would wake up early in the morning on a holiday) to hoist the flag, while sports events were organized for children. The evening saw various performance by a few sporting elders and children who had been preparing for many days leading up to the event. There was a sense of community and a feeling of belonging one felt on such days. Belonging to a neighbourhood...a society...a nation.

Today....it is just another day!