What is it with TV adverts these days? Every 5th Ad has a cute-as-a-button kid to peddle its wares. Now we have kids selling us stuff ranging from toothpaste to insurance policies.
I’m sure the advertisers expect us to melt to a gooey puddle and slide our way to the market immediately. Now I can imagine that those with sun shining on their rooftops would fall in love immediately with these ads. However, I’m sure some people like me manage to find the “other side” of these bright-as-sunshine ads. I can find a fly in my soup faster than you can spell F-L-Y.
Case in point is a new advertisement of a particular detergent. A kid (lets call him Pappu) brings a bucketful of water for his mother. (The bucket, by the way, has a lot of neatly punched-in holes.) When asked the reason for doing so, he replies “Arvind ki mummy kehti hain ki khaare paani se kapde ki dhulaayi mushkil hoti hai. Isliye main meetha paani laaya tha.” (Arvind’s mom says that it is difficult to wash clothes in salty water; that’s why I got sweet water for you) Or something to that effect. Now that’s a nice child. Very thoughtful of mamma’s chores, isn’t he?
Everyone is tripping head over heels at the innocence of the boy.
However, I'm wondering about his friend’s mother. What kind of woman is she to talk about her dirty laundry with a little boy? (No pun intended please!)
I can imagine what poor Pappu went through to spurt out such complex sentences to his mother.
Here is a re-creation of the events, as played in my mind:
Pappu goes to Arvind’s home and asks his mom for to send him out to play. Arvind’s mom is unfortunately washing clothes at that time.
Pappu: Aunty Arvind hai? Usse baahar bhej dijiye (Aunty, is Arvind at home? Please send him outside)
A’s Mummy: Dekhte nahi main kapde dho rahi hoon? Abhi yahin khade raho. (Cant you see that I’m washing clothes? Stand here for now.)
Pappu: Ok aunty. Kitni der lagegi? (How much time will it take?)
A’s mummy: Beta, yeh kapde main khaare paani mein dho rahi hoon. Khaare paani mein kapde der se saaf hote hain. Abhi mujhe samay lagega. Kaash mere paas meetha paani hota! (I’m washing these clothes in salty water, therefore it will take some time. I wish I had sweet water!)
Pappu: Aunty yeh meetha paani kaise banta hai? Usmein cheeni ghol ke? (How do we make sweet water? By mixing sugar in it?
A's mummy: Nahi beta. Yeh paani hamein baarish, nadiyan, taalaab, patton mein atki os se milta hai. (No son. We get this water from rain, rivers, ponds and from the dew on leaves.)
Pappu (Digesting the information): Chodiye aunty. Main abhi meethe paani ki talaash mein jaa rahaa hoon (Let it be aunty. I’m going to search for sweet water now!)
(On the way back, Chintu flicks a discarded bucket from Pappu’s backyard to store the sweet water). That should explain the holes in the bucket. Though it doesn’t explain the holes in the ad itself.
On a side note, I can’t help comparing the new generation with our own. Now, during our times, things were so much different. If we ever went to our friends’ home to play, the loving mothers would put aside all their tasks and ply us with milk and cookies. Some of them would proceed to ask, “Beta, tumhaare, final exams mein kitne number aaye?” (How much did you score in your final exams?) If your marks were less than friend’s, you would be generously bestowed with a sunny smile and a smirk simultaneously. However, if you managed to score more, then your friend’s ears would be in deep trouble that night.
How the times have changed! Or have they?
I’m sure the advertisers expect us to melt to a gooey puddle and slide our way to the market immediately. Now I can imagine that those with sun shining on their rooftops would fall in love immediately with these ads. However, I’m sure some people like me manage to find the “other side” of these bright-as-sunshine ads. I can find a fly in my soup faster than you can spell F-L-Y.
Case in point is a new advertisement of a particular detergent. A kid (lets call him Pappu) brings a bucketful of water for his mother. (The bucket, by the way, has a lot of neatly punched-in holes.) When asked the reason for doing so, he replies “Arvind ki mummy kehti hain ki khaare paani se kapde ki dhulaayi mushkil hoti hai. Isliye main meetha paani laaya tha.” (Arvind’s mom says that it is difficult to wash clothes in salty water; that’s why I got sweet water for you) Or something to that effect. Now that’s a nice child. Very thoughtful of mamma’s chores, isn’t he?
Everyone is tripping head over heels at the innocence of the boy.
However, I'm wondering about his friend’s mother. What kind of woman is she to talk about her dirty laundry with a little boy? (No pun intended please!)
I can imagine what poor Pappu went through to spurt out such complex sentences to his mother.
Here is a re-creation of the events, as played in my mind:
Pappu goes to Arvind’s home and asks his mom for to send him out to play. Arvind’s mom is unfortunately washing clothes at that time.
Pappu: Aunty Arvind hai? Usse baahar bhej dijiye (Aunty, is Arvind at home? Please send him outside)
A’s Mummy: Dekhte nahi main kapde dho rahi hoon? Abhi yahin khade raho. (Cant you see that I’m washing clothes? Stand here for now.)
Pappu: Ok aunty. Kitni der lagegi? (How much time will it take?)
A’s mummy: Beta, yeh kapde main khaare paani mein dho rahi hoon. Khaare paani mein kapde der se saaf hote hain. Abhi mujhe samay lagega. Kaash mere paas meetha paani hota! (I’m washing these clothes in salty water, therefore it will take some time. I wish I had sweet water!)
Pappu: Aunty yeh meetha paani kaise banta hai? Usmein cheeni ghol ke? (How do we make sweet water? By mixing sugar in it?
A's mummy: Nahi beta. Yeh paani hamein baarish, nadiyan, taalaab, patton mein atki os se milta hai. (No son. We get this water from rain, rivers, ponds and from the dew on leaves.)
Pappu (Digesting the information): Chodiye aunty. Main abhi meethe paani ki talaash mein jaa rahaa hoon (Let it be aunty. I’m going to search for sweet water now!)
(On the way back, Chintu flicks a discarded bucket from Pappu’s backyard to store the sweet water). That should explain the holes in the bucket. Though it doesn’t explain the holes in the ad itself.
On a side note, I can’t help comparing the new generation with our own. Now, during our times, things were so much different. If we ever went to our friends’ home to play, the loving mothers would put aside all their tasks and ply us with milk and cookies. Some of them would proceed to ask, “Beta, tumhaare, final exams mein kitne number aaye?” (How much did you score in your final exams?) If your marks were less than friend’s, you would be generously bestowed with a sunny smile and a smirk simultaneously. However, if you managed to score more, then your friend’s ears would be in deep trouble that night.
How the times have changed! Or have they?
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