a magical meal called maggi

Circa 2109. A cold winter evening in New Delhi’s South Ex. Sonam Reddy a design consultant working with the 2112 Gurgaon Olympics project is lazing around in her apartment on the 63rd floor after getting back from a memorable weekend trip to Kathmandu ( the round trip by nuclear fusion tech powered low cost airlines is quite convenient!) with her friends. She is slightly hungry and needs just that light warm meal to get back to the groove. She orders from the nearest Walmart store - a packet of Maggi Noodles, a litre of Bisleri water (potable water is a big scarcity now) and a packet of organic, precooked, finely cut vegetable mix using online banking from her 5G Nokia mobile handset. The transaction costs her a mere 20 dollars (the world’s common currency in vogue) and the items are home delivered within no time.

She sets about cooking the meal in her solar cooker and the result is a magical meal of golden yellowish-brown bowl of steaming Maggi Noodles sprinkled with chopped veggies. Its unique tangy aroma takes over the confines of her wi-fi modular kitchen momentarily. Settling down on a khadi beanbag ( a fab india product) and indulging into it a morsel at a time she slurpingly relishes every part of it as the night sets in outside and the zillion lights of the delhi skyline start sparkling outside.

So, that was my maiden attempt at writing fiction but what one really wants to bring out is the sheer and unparalleled joy of consuming a bowl of Maggi and popular the world over (a number of communities on Orkut and Facebook dedicated to it testify the same!) A favourite Maggi moment would be secretly making it with the help of an electric iron and books without making a single noise and not even a whiff escaping the cabin (a trade secret known only to Ex-NDA officers!).

Others would be after a long trek while camping under the stars snuggling to a small bonfire or in a forward bunker on the line of control prepared in desi ghee chatting with other sepoys and watching the snow fall outside or at the end of long journey at the roadside kiosk alongwith cutting chai or at a coffee shop with some interesting company and mocha coffee, after a rigorous workout with some form of eggs thrown in for taste (never mind the calories!) or simply at home with a dollop of amul butter added during preparation accompanied by a glass of coke!

A dish which can be cooked confidently by all men (and possibly the only dish) deserves more-a museum and research to make it edible in space too possibly!