breakfast "phataphat"

a few days back i was working very late into the night.i was burning the proverbial midnight oil.and then due to sheer fatigue,i slept off and woke up rather late.clearly, i was running behind schedule and our cook gb was at a loss not knowing my preference for breakfast.when it was about time to leave for office and when i asked her whether breakfast was ready she said that as i had not indicated my choice,she hadn't prepared anything.normally,i place my order first thing in the morning.at home,we have a limited'a la carte'for breakfast.each one of us wants something different and poor gb is generally at her wits'end.so there i was at a loss.a tad hungry,wondering what i should ask for. with the prospect of losing another half an hour or so,i was about to skip the breakfast and run.then a brilliant idea struck gb. she said in marathi,"saab,mee maggie banaun deto". i asked her how long it will take.her answer was crisp."phataphat".which meant immediately.

within no time hot steaming maggie noodles arrived on the dining table with carrot and beans thrown in as seasonings.to say the least,i was very impressed.gb is generally very slow.but this time she acted with lightning speed.helped no doubt by the sheer convenience and speed with which maggie noodles can be cooked.no wonder it sells phenomenally and india is its largest consumer."tasty bhi hai,healthy bhi hai".

maggie noodles are generally made out of wheat flour(aatta)and has good quantities of protein and fibre.derived from the latin word nodus(knot),the chinese,italians and arabians- all of them claim to have been the first to create this string-like food.it is generally believed that marco polo brought noodles to italy from china.you also get them in various flavours like masala,dal,sambhar,cheese,pizza,tomato and chatpata. maggie is a runaway success and has been there for about 25 years.surprisingly there has hardly been any major competition.you do have wai wai,top ramen etc but they pose no threat to the dominant market share of maggie noodles.

carlo donati,ceo, must be chuckling in his nescafe headquarters in switzerland.noodles which originated in china landed up in india thanks to a swiss firm and has been totallyindianised.yet another example of globalisation and local adaptation.like mcdonald's or kentucky fry or pizza hut.maggie noodles is a superhit and nescafe cash counters are continuously ringing.

now i know what to tell gb when i am hungry and want something fast."gb, mujhe gazab ki bhook lagi hai,mujhe chahiye maggie".a filmy dialogue,but surely it will work.