PARLE-G AND OUR CANINE RELATIONSHIPS

Parle-G | Our daily source of happiness! 

Yes, many and rather most of us know this feeling. From being the best sidekick to your hot morning cuppa (tea or coffee as one may choose) this octogenarian is a life story of sorts. It can possibly be given the title of being one of the main delights in all those in the growing years of 80’s and 90’s. I could be wrong in contemplating its reach given the fact that this octogenarian has seen a wide spectrum of its liker's.

In its early avatar, the biscuit found takers mostly in the younger children who definitely liked the sweet taste of it. Over the years these children having grown into happy adults continued their content relationship with the food item to multiple levels.

How many remember having had the Parle-G cake that someone in your family made for you and your loved ones on the event of a birthday celebration or just because one felt craving of it. Long before we had the various eulogizing content creators, we see today on our social feeds we had in each home or family someone who fit that bill. And one crafty lady at some point in time used these sumptuous bricks and laid them together to make a tasteful delight to remember.

 

Journey to the center of Parle-G

From those lofty shades we transitioned this delicate soul into being the one of the highest selling biscuit known to mankind. It soon took on the title of being the common man’s food. There was a time when double roti or bread as we say it in the English, was the title holder. Soon however we have reached a place where Parle-G is touted to be the common man’s food. Hence double roti, possibly because the changing times saw trends of evolution where double roti remained no more as double roti but transitioned into being white to brown to sour to multigrain to challah to bun to focaccia and what not? Double roti had evolved into being no more the common man’s food one may suppose.

However, the current title holder Parle-G has remained such for a long time. No major evolution has been seen in how it was and is created. Neither does one find any major evolution in how it tasted then and does now. Yes, you may say its clothing has changed, as in packaging. You may also say there are variants in its kitty now, but that is the highest amount of evolution it has seen. By no means am I trying to derail the king from its throne and in no manner is my talk about this aspect. My point is but to a different spear altogether.

To read about the origins of this mega brand check this article out on The Better India!

The 2nd life of our beloved Parle-G

I definitely wish to talk about Parle-G’s evolution. But of a different kind. The point I wish to make is that the evolution of this Octogenarian has been in the realms this power food’s consumers. From the days of being a human consumption product designed for fulfilling very specific needs in a very specific time; today it has become possibly the sole goodness that is shared by us humans with our co-travellers in the great evolution journey – our canine partners. My point of focus; is going to be this passionate story we see among all the dog lovers we come across on our morning walks and other points in time as well.

Who as not seen this happen? A set of people having their morning cup of warm tea at the many chai-galla / tapri / tea-stalls. They are talking animatedly with their friend / family / partner / stranger who’s sharing those moments with them. While sipping over the hot cuppa each of them is also sumptuously having their favorite Parle-G. Looking at these individuals are some canine friends of ours. Possibly hungry and looking out for some food. A few biscuits are tossed over by the onlookers. The dogs smell it. It seems food. A small lick and a bite is had. The biscuits taste fine. The dogs finish the few left and look at the caregiver with affectionate eyes hoping to get some more.

The power of Parle-G

The human heart relents on having seen the satiated friend. A fresh batch of biscuits promptly come out. The batch is now laid in front of the canine friends to slurp upon. They abidingly do. Pleasantries imparted in unequivocal terms a bond is created as well as a routine. This one-day experience does well to all the three sides. The caregiver. The recipient. And equally the vendor who saw this happening. The next day the routine continues. A few days later the tapri has more stock of these pleasantries as now this morning happiness makes all connected to it happy to the core.

The dogs being hungry and having to fend for themselves are more than happy to have this free meal. The human friend is happy being of help in whatever minute manner which soothes his inner self, his ego of being a good Samaritan. The shopkeeper is happy to have found a fresh source of confirmed revenue. All go happy. So now what is that is wrong here? Any clue?

Fact of the matter

The question here that comes to mind is the continued patronage correct. You maybe wondering what exactly is wrong here.

Is feeding the hungry dogs wrong in any manner? There are people with ‘yay’s and naye’s’ to his question. My contention is not to go into whether such a relation between all the three has any negating points. My contention today is look into the fact is at all the food product being used to satiate the canine’s hunger is a fair decision or otherwise.

There are some takers who would say Parle-G being a food product created for humans should be consumed by humans. Other takers would contribute that the dogs instead of having to eat infested leftovers have a better option with this variant. Few others would add that medically it is not proved that the food product is having any side effects due to the glucose in them. Diabetes is a problem for the home breed canines and not the strays. Another contention would be that in today’s time of higher cost of living this is the best option we can give to strays as looking for controlled efforts of other types is altogether a different monstrosity to manage.

Questions to find answers to

Well each in its own is the right argument. My inner musings tend to ask me these questions.

• Q1: By feeding our canine co-habiters only Parle-G, are we doing something right for them or for us?
• Q2: Does being able to take care of a life; entail freedom to us to alter their living as per our thoughts?
• Q3: As creators, do we have better alternatives and can we create them?
• Q4: Why is life at such purest of levels, also seen by us as one whether it is ‘economically viable’?

The questions are there and the plausible answers to them as well. One fine experience of this in recent days I have come across where the do-gooders are seldom aware of the possible harm being done by feeding the canine only and only these biscuits and even if are aware, they make a conscious choice considering to themselves that at least the animal is not going hungry. I have in a way concerns with this thought process. Either do good in its actual sense and not as per your own sense. Because we have inevitably been proved wrong.

Some real life examples and scenarios

Case in point is this winter as is the case the stray dogs tend to have their litters. One such litter is around our current abode. The neighbors have been treating the canine family well. Giving it space to manage the litter. Keeping the litters surrounding clean. Given the litter fresh cow’s milk multiple times in a day. In short as much as I have seen they litter is growing well. Equally just a bit at a distance I had noticed over the past year a middle-aged gentleman feeding a few dogs constantly every morning.

Possibly inclinations of a good heart or a religious heart. The mother of this litter was one of the dogs he used to care for. Hence now that the litter was there it was but natural for him to take care of them in some manner as well though they have come at a distance from his known place of feeding. The interesting part I learnt he knew feeding Parle-G was not right, but in the same breath he was justifying to himself that the mother is used to eating them only and hence he continues giving her the same stuff and brings pedigree units for the litter to have.

Now my question that I have not found answer to. When I know I am possibly doing wrong do I continue doing this? In case I don’t want to learn because I am the learned how can someone help me relearn?

What my thoughts and my little experience with handling animals tells me.

• At my individual level: How about training the stray on multitudes of food items that I know for sure they will find irrespective of the place they are in India. Food will always go to the bin. Can we instead segregate in place instead; it goes into a belly?
• At my social level: Can I look out for such possible mistakes being done and talk to the do-gooders to see if they can alter their thoughts a bit to actually do even better? Yes, I do not expect that most of the people would like to feed these strays any kind of meat for their own social and religious followings; but at least try and see that instead of finding the lowest economical mode being viable one looks at anything that is a mix of things. 1 chapati-curd or a bowl of rice-curd could cost the same as 1 Parle-G pack you give but the variation is known to be better for the animal that you are caring for.
• At our social level: We are connected. We know someone somewhere whose voice plays are role. Can we take their help if and as needed to take this much further? Asking others to do is not the point am asking to consider here. Am considering we at our level do and seek help from these voices to reach more which if works over a period of time shows a changed consensus. Like water we all know is precious and most of us do care for it. It took time for us to realize this fact and alter our way of looking at it. That could be a fair example at this point.
• At educational level: There are vocational trainers for kids in school and there are subject trainers as well. Children are taught today to do a lot of things as the current time demands. However, are we teaching them on how to co-exist. This co-existence thought has brought us this far. So how about using the skills and passion of a few have a program created for such trainers to reach the younger lot. Not only do we help them alter the future we help ourselves alter the present. Parents these days learn from their children. It is the forced methodical nature of things. Such a method would create peer group pressure at each level which I hope you can visualize. A pressure which is known to be good.
• At the brand level: Some may say let’s boycott the brand as they are bigger evil. Let’s have a social campaign and highlight the plight of the animals because the brand did not do much. Production is not the. The producers didn’t produce the product for canine. It was for human consumption. We, the humans, found the economical method of doing good – soothing our egos of doing good for the canine friends – as a matter of fact. Goodness in small but still goodness none the less. So, the answer has to be different. Instead of doing away with the current version of Parle-G, can we create a separate vertical at Parle-G of a canine friendly variant, consumable by humans as well. It could taste similar. It could look similar but it would be animal friendly. Cost benefits available with Parle-G can continue as the scale of production and its market is still there. The use is also there. The distribution is also there. Only what matters is a bit of know-how sharing for the canine lovers across the length and breath of India that a canine friendly Parle-G is also available. The better part – the same product in a manner segments the dog-food market as well to a certain level. Who knows, India could have the record from the Parle-G stable under this next variant of its parent brand.

Most of the above is a thought. A thought on which I have spent some time on. So, I believe there is a possible value chain in it. Now it’s a matter of contemplating if this can be brought to the masses.