More About Potato Chips

Now that I am back in this lazy chair, I have started getting back to some of the original thoughts which only a time spent on this LC can provide.

Since I had not met my friend – the joint family guy – for some time, I decided to meet him first.

‘Ah, who is coming? I thought you forgot all of us.’ My friend was all welcome.

‘I was a bit busy. I knew you were also busy with your elections and investments and what not. And I know you don’t like my views about a lot of neighbours coming and investing here. So what is happening?’

‘Oh, the eldest uncle who was so far running the whole show is outvoted in the election. Now my young uncle is going to be at the helm of affairs. He has already said that the whole family policy is going to be changed.’

‘Family policy? What is a family policy?’

‘See, even you don’t know that. It is because we never had a policy so far, we are in this state of affairs. All we had was a policy of no policy. This needs to be changed.’

‘So?’

‘You see, the first thing is we need help. We need help from our neighbours or even from good developed villages from afar.’

‘why?’ I was quite interested in this new thinking.

‘first, to develop a proper policy. For example, let us take food....’

‘ now, don’t you start with potato and potato chips.’

‘potato and potato chips is only a small part of it. The tip of the iceberg, you know... All right! To start with - can we maka a decent potato chip? Selected potatoes, sliced thin equally and consistantly, all nicely spiced without touching with your hand, and in good golden colour ... you know what I mean. And then can we do a decent packing? Nice colourfully printed ones? The whole looks of it should be tempting. If we have to make such good quality stuff, we need help....’

‘I know, I know.... then we need to make the advertising dramas! We need to hire good actors, actresses, directors and advertise it in many tv channels in many languages. We need to advertise in newspapers..... But all this needs money, no?’

‘As I said earlier, yes, when you need good stuff you have to pay more. That is why in those developed places, all this is mechanised and can make lot of quantity. And you know the principle that the higher the volume, the making cost will automatically reduce.’

‘you mean, we don’t have to make anything here?’

‘All these nice things – when they are available in good quality, why do you want to make them yourself?’

‘But then what about our traditional foodstuff like alu- paratha, idli, upma etc.? They do not know how to make them...’

‘who wants idli-vadai? When we can get nice hygienically packed healthy cornflakes, why do we need idlis? When we can get nice pizzas, who needs uthappams and alu-parathas? Once all this collaborations are complete, then we can make these idli-vada things and give to them. Then if they like them – which means they should be good – then they would want to make them in big quantities. We can give consultancy how to make them. It will improve inter-villages trade. Then they will do research and make machines to make idli-vadai. Once they set up factories to make them, then you have no worry. You only have to buy them....’

‘Oh, my! Your young uncle seems to be having a very ambitious program...’

‘You see, quality and efficiency is everything. If you insist that we must make something here, then we must hire experts from there and ask them to modify our kitchen properly. But then don’t tell that everything has become expensive.’

‘Expensive is a relative term. Why a certain product is expensive – it depends on many things. For example, a masala dosa in the corner tea shop in our village costs only 12 rupees. But you go to a five star hotel, a similar masala dosa will cost 10 to 15 times more.’

‘I think we will discuss this in detail another day. Uncle will come now and will be giving me some work. Now that he is there at the top, he says everyone has to do some work!!!!!!!!!!!’

‘what kind of work?’

‘that he will decide. His friends from the village nearby is also coming.’

‘oh, so you will have to work so they make their money...’

‘Let them make their money. They are capable, so they will make money. For me, I am happy if I get  my share....’

‘never mind even if they are some breadcrumbs.....’

‘You will never stop criticising. You see when you come here next time.... this time I want to talk about the policy only. you now at least understood the necessity of it, no?' ’my friend said.