Living The Maggi Way of Life – Life Lessons from Maggi

Yesterday one of my PG student called me up and asked ‘how are you Ma’am’? I really miss your classes and the time we used to eat Maggi with you in your cabin!’ I laughed and invited her to the university for catching up over a plate of Maggi and some tea. As she hung up the phone, the thought of Maggi persisted and reminded me how food can bring people together. As I was contemplating how my students and I are Maggi lovers and how we bond over its unique taste, there are many life lessons from Maggi to be inspired from. I started connecting our dear Maggi with life like never before. 

Maggi, which brought so much of silent revolution in India way back in 1982, that even Nestle could not have imagined that it would become so iconic in Indian subcontinent, that it will be feeding majority of Indian population to grab 90% of the market share . Maggi has stood the test of time for all Indians alike regardless of cast, creed, colour, religion or sex and fed the country through thick and thin. Maggi Love in our nation is as old as at least two decades long. And for us Taste always rules!

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Since its introduction, Maggi had a deep impact on Indian culture & Indian cooking, owing to its super delicious taste which is relished by people of all ages alike, and convenience in cooking, being positioned as “2 minutes noodles”, which was picked up with India housewives without any delay. As the famous Maggi punch line goes “Jab bhook to ho jaldi mitana, 2 Minutes Maggi noodles banana”. Not only the concept of quick cooking gained momentum but also concept of cooking Maggi in umpteen ways, perpetuated by street food vendors selling Maggi  with India tadka, Egg Maggi, Maggi poha, Maggi sandwich and even Maggi paranthas. 

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Because of Maggi is part of every kitchen in India households since decades, it has become existential to our community and an inadvertent outcome is “ye teri maggi, ye meri maggi”. It would be shared out of love and not out of greed.

Let’s connect with this Maggi Mania & Learn Life Lessons from Maggi

There are some important life lessons from Maggi which we can learn – right from the colour of its packaging, spiral shape to its taste & flavours. Let’s dwell deep into what life lessons from Maggi we can be inspired from.

The packaging in Yellow & Red colour

Yellow is the most luminous of all the colours of the spectrum. It’s one of the prominent colours in Maggi and captures our attention more than any other colour. While moving in stores we instantly locate Maggi by this yellow colour.  Grabbing hold of Maggi and then relishing it brings smiles on our face, spark in our eyes and a feeling of satisfaction in our hearts. Similarly, in many cultures yellow represents happiness, and optimism, of enlightenment and creativity, sunshine and spring. Yellow is also one of the colour in traffic lights indicating time to relax and take caution before moving ahead. Similarly, it teaches us to relax, be cautious in taking decisions of life and be careful in choices we make. 

“Care to get what you like otherwise you will be forced to like what you get”-George Bernard Shaw.

The other important colour on the packing of Maggi is Red as it can stimulate the appetite, often being used in restaurants for this purpose. It also increases craving for food and other stimuli. “Meri Maggi- 2 minute mein Khushiyan” Red is energizing. It excites the emotions and motivates us to take action. We also get instant energy after eating Maggi. Again, it is also the colour of traffic lights indicating us to stop, wait for our time and give way to others. Similarly, life also teaches us to accommodate others by giving way to them, stopping meanwhile and introspecting before moving ahead again with better decisions. 

The spiral shape of noodles

We often eat Maggi making with slurping sound of ‘sudup-sadap’ and try to balance the noodles through the spaces of fork. It reminds me of the spirality of life and how we need to balance it judiciously to roll past over ups and downs while maintaining our mental, spiritual, emotional, and physical balance. 

A famous tagline goes “Just add garam paani, carry on Jani”, which gives a clear message that whatever life brings to you, add fuel to your energy and keep moving forward without being stuck. Most of the times noodles get entangled with each other, so does our lives. The strength lies in being resilient and focussing on putting your life back in the track.

 “A crisis can be a blessing in disguise and a great time to introspect and refocus on where you are and where you want to go.” – Suresh Narayanan (Chairman and MD of Nestlé, India).

All weather snacking 

“Jab thand sataye to chalo garama garam Maggi ho jaye! Baarish mein lip-smacking Maggi aur garmi mein bhi garama garam Maggi”

As, Maggi is relished in all seasons, we should enjoy our lives in all its stages. We must keep our dreams and hopes alive while growing and moving forward. We are the happiest when we are not in a hurry to reach our destination but when we enjoy our journey as it comes along. The idea is to enjoy all the flavours of life, celebrate each moment as it comes, and learn from our mistakes rather than cribbing about it. This happens to be one of the most important life lessons to learn from Maggi. 

Different Flavours

Maggi comes in various flavours (12 flavours as far as I can count), ranging from classic masala, tomato, chicken, atta noodles, oats noodles to new flavours of peri-peri, barbeque pepper, chilli chicken and green chilli. So much variety and so many spices. After all variety is the spice of life. Same holds true for our lives, with variety being the a distinguishing feature of our life. So many people, so many places, so many cultures. Different people add unique flavour to life, some bring sweetness and some bitterness. But everyone has something to teach and it is a heuristic experience. Rather than playing Russian roulette with your life, experience it carefully and choose your company wisely. 

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So from next time when you eat Maggi noodles remember all these funny linkages with it and draw life lessons from Maggi and its small packet of happiness and taste while thinking how this 2 minute- wonder food gives us so many insights about life and relationships.

Good to Know Maggi Facts

But before you finish reading and assimilating the life lessons from Maggi, there is a great value in looking in the past and finding out that India’s most popular instant noodles are not Indian at all. Here are few facts which are good to know:

The word Maggi has come from its inventor and entrepreneur Julius Maggi, who hails from Switzerland 

Brand Maggi was started by Julius Maggi to provide more nutritious food to working class families as women in working in factories had less time for cooking at home in 1860s and he had no idea he will be regarded as ‘God of Food’ one and a half century later at least in India

Before Maggi noodles, Maggi was known for its pre-cooked soups or readymade soups & legume based meals 

In 1947 Maggi brand got acquired by global FMCG giant Nestlé and  has been marketed as 2-minuted noodles in India since 1983

In India, Maggi brand is synonymous with instant noodles & sometimes ketchup, while in worldwide, their most famous product is  bouillon cube (a ready-made stock cube)

Maggi noodles are so popular in India that prior to the controversy of high lead content in noodles and subsequent banning of the same, it had a market share of 90%. 

Only India has a special variant of Maggie for Vegetarians 

It was Julius Maggie’s dream of making nutritious, quick and tasty food easily accessible to the common working man that Maggi is available nationwide in Rs.10 pack

If you have some more life lessons from Maggi in your mind,  please comment in the section below. 

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