Enough of Cricket...lets play some Soccer now...

Last week, India ( better, i should say Kolkata ) lost to the WorldCup@Germany finalist, Saudi Arabia by 3-0. I know, many of the readers (my friends), would think, with frowns on their faces and with eyebrows dancing, "what's the crap this guy talking about, Saudi Arabia was never in the world Cup, and which WorldCup was played at Germany...this guy (the writer) has surely lost his mind". Before u start losing your head on this, and give a comment cursing me, i must tell you guys, this is the Football world cup i am talking about!!! People in India ( including me ), are so engrossed in Cricket that they never bother to go to the second page of the Sports section of the newspapers, which have Soccer news (ofcourse LOCAL, Kolkattan or Indian).
Almost the entire population of our country must be knowing that Chappell is our coach, might not being aware of the game he coaches, but if you ask somebody, who is Bob Houghton?, the reply, in most cases, would probably be "I guess, he is the one who has recently been to the Mars". So that's the status Football has in our country.
I must tell you, Bob is our newly appointed coach for the Indian FOOTBALL team and this man will have real huge pain in his ass as he tries to mould indian (kolkattan) football players to prepare them for the world arena. That, not because Bhutia doesn't know how to run in the field, but because he will have to face the Dragon of Cricket mania. He will have to perform as a winner to bring the consciousness for Football in Indian people and at the same time bring Football at the first page. I would say, the Indian Media should be blamed on for this. They are not doing justice to the game, just to sell the newspaper, they show Sachin's photo on the front and then who have time to see anything else. Time has come to make Football our national game, i've always wondered, why is this hockey which is in a stage of extinction. The government seem to have this fundamentally strong ( and equally wrong ) notion that "the dying and liable to extinction, should be the nation's pride". Why not we just go for the game the world is playing, y can't we beat Saudi Arabia?? Can we not produce 11 killer players out of the reproduced billion. We should accept the fact that with Dhyan Chand grown, our hockey is gone.

Though we lost to Saudi Arabia, our spirit should not lose. We gotta build some fanatics club, if we can dance on every beat of the SAMBA, why can't we dance on the beats of KATHAK. Everybody watches Football worldcup like it's being played in our own country and our country is going to win, but when it comes to the reality all hearts in India say, "Naah!! who???? india and in Football world cup?? Just forget it...". We gotta change this attitude towards the Game of the World, and we have to dream that India too can win. If WorldCup@Germany2006 could help Germany rebuild its economy, i'm sure the indian companies must start giving boost to the game. This FOOTBALL can bring globalisation in india in real senses. Hail Bob!!! Hail Football!!! Hail India!!!

Vegetable Atta Noodles..... innovation in FMCG

March, 2006, FMCG has another innovation in its bag with the arrival of "Vegetable Atta Noodles". Nestle has done it again, proved that it's a brand of reliability and credibility and once again punched the line "Believe the Reliable". This evening after coming from office, as i ate the Atta Noodles, all i could realize that this was worth paying 12 extra rupees for a pack of 4. I am just surprized by the way "health care" has been put into the earlier "maida" maggi which was a little bugging to the stomach. Recent survey in the IIMs says, Maggi is the most popular stuff in the hostel. According to the creators, each 100 gm pack of Maggi Vegetable Atta Noodles gives nutrition (energy, fiber, protein and calcium) equivalent to three rotis. And so, with this Nestle's "heathy" maggi, i think people will start taking this instead of their regular lunches and dinners.

This is the age of the Retail boom in India and FMCG plays an import role in that. Now that every nook and corner of the metros are witnessing the erection of the shopping malls, nobody can deny the fact that the retailing business is on its best. Retail is booming, it’s growing at a very fast pace with many Indian players like Reliance, Pantaloon and international players like Wal-Mart venturing into the Indian markets. Reliance has promised to open 63 such stores in the coming years. This retail boom couldn't go unobserved by our Management schools also, and different B-schools have started the specialized courses in retailing. "MICA", "IISWBM", "Welingkar", and "K.J.Somaiya" have started dedicated courses in retailing. And this observation by these well established schools will bring another spurt of thrust in this retailing. A major portion of this retail is the FMCG section with the appetizers in action. And then this boom is quite expected as the economy is on surge and people are earning money more than ever and so they got something nice to spend on.

As we walked in to the C3 store in our "City center" shopping mall, we could see the "vegetable aata noodles" announcing it's arrival with it's green and yellow shining pack staring right into our eyes with a promise to provide "health". And when Mr Martial Rolland, Chairman and Managing Director of Nestlé India, claims that "Maggi Vegetable Atta Noodles is a very strong concept. Research and consumer insight indicate that dietary fibre in whole wheat facilitates good health and wellness", we cannot overlook this. Retail boom is gonna be further boosted by the arrival of this Atta Noodles. I remember earlier after eating one, i couldn't eat other, but as my stomach is now relieved by this new Mr. Atta Noodles, i guess Mr. Stomach will have his days back and will show the growth in appetite.