The legacy of Branded Items in our day to day usage

In India, since many decades some items have become such legends that their image has been hugely modified. Many brand names that companies made became household names. People started using their reference so much, that their context became entirely different. This new time, I am going to journey you through those legends that are embedded deep into our hearts.

When we were kids, our parents used to go to shops and gave a list of items to the grocer to purchase from. They included a lot of items that rules our daily life. and we also learnt from them and still name them the same way even after decades in this present world. The list is as follows:

1.Lux - 4 bars

Now what they meant was, "Give me four bars of bathing soap.". But Lux is not soap. Lux is a brand name of a soap from Unilever. Now it has been so famous, that people referred to every brand of soap as not Soap but as LUX. it was default word for soap. it did not meant that they want to only buy LUX soap, other brands will do, but the usage has remained till now. At least have survived till the generations of 90s.

2.Britannia - 2 large packets

Every Indian knows what we mean by this lovely word. We mean Biscuits. The original Marie gold biscuit as we know of, Round round Marie biscuits. But there were are lots of biscuit brands. Biskfarm, Priyagold, Cremica, Sunfeast etc. all have their own Marie. We will buy any brand, what we want is Marie. It can be from any brand. But the usage was so much popular that what ever design, whatever flavour, butter or cream biscuits, we referred every kind of biscuits as Britannia. The Shopkeeper would show us a cream biscuit and we would buy it. Biscuit became equal to Britannia. I still go to shop and my mouth utters Britannia even if I want to buy Oreo.

3.Colgate - One family pack with a free Toothbrush

That white, red and blue tube, we press each day after we get out of our dreams in the morning is the toothpaste we have been using for years. The original packaging and design still exists. There are so many types of toothpastes by Colgate like advanced whitening, active salt, Neem, herbal, max fresh ,the list is infinite. We will just about take any type till the purpose of cleaning out teeth is served. Even Pepsodent, Close-Up, Sensodyne toothpaste brands will be okay for  the very purpose. But for us Toothpaste has always and will forever in the deep recesses of our functioning brain will mean Colgate. Period !

4. Glucon D - 1 orange flavour and 1 usual regular green

An energy drink, parents make, a glass each morning and evening for their children to replenish them their body energy. The packet has a family, mother and father smiling will a little kid. Regular is white powder while orange flavour is orange coloured. Then other manufacturers made their own some Glu something D energy drink. I used to go and ask for Glucon D. After many purchases, I realised that I was not having Glucon D but Glucose D. I enquired and came to know, "Hey this is a different brand." We are so used to it, that we do not even know the manufacturers names. Just Glucon D, our life saver. Even now we carry a small tetra pack whenever we venture on a travel to some exciting place. If no water is available, we just consume the powder directly, melting it in our mouth. I mean, what a taste to relish upon. Freshens up our body. Instant energy!

5. Surf - 1 kg pack

We mean, "Give us a detergent powder." We have tons of clothes spread around our rooms ready to be washed. Surf equals detergent powder. If we get Tide, it is fine. For us it is Surf (Detergent). If we want Ariel, Ghari, Henko, Nirma (another legend Washing powder Nirma song), Wheel, Rin, we say surf (detergent). Brand became the generic name. 

6.Philips - 2 bulbs. 1 tube light.

This household Dutch Brand is very dear to us. It feels so Indian even when it is of Dutch origin. And for us electric lights means Philips. Bulb means Philips. Tube light means Philips. Table lamp means Philips. Now Crompton Greaves, Havells, Eveready, Bajaj, Syska, all make bulbs. and each is a great brand. Yet Philips lights our hearts much like the very first edition of a novel.

Apart from that we have :

7. Bata - 1 pair for son, 1 pair for daughter, 1 pair for husband and 1 pair for the wife herself.

Bata is a shoe company. I hardly wore any other brand of shoes other than Bata till my college years. Bata was our default shoe showroom. It acted like a magnet and pulled us to buy a new chappal (Sandal) when the old white pair was worn out. Formal shoes means Bata. Mom used to say, "You need a new Bata for the upcoming function at school." She meant I need a new pair of formal black shoes. We went to a shop asked for Bata and the salesman measured our foot length and recommended a shoe. Sometimes out of scarcity we did not get Bata brand, so Liberty or Paragon was available, we would buy it. But we have always mentioned shoes as Bata and not shoes to our Keith and kin. Even friends tell us, "Get a new Bata already!"

8. VIP - 1 Biggest size hard material

I mean Suitcase. Briefcase. Backpack (School Bag). Any luggage item. VIP is a brand so rooted in our country which has spread to every nook and corner that it is synonymous with luggage. "VIP eta kinoboloi hol tur." one meant, "you are in need to buy a new VIP." The old VIP is very old and bulky. A new light design is out in market, much lighter and soft in material make. The Dukani (Shopkeeper) understood what we meant. Most of times it was VIP brand, sometimes it became Samsonite or American Tourister or Duckback. So much for the love of VIP. 

9. Nokia - 1 piece plus battery and headphone and charger. Complete bundle.

Yes Nokia. I mean it. Till 2012-2013 Nokia was like the Emperor. The all rounder. Nokia came as a beacon of mobile phone technology. Other brand were almost nowhere where Nokia was. People believed in Nokia,. I still believe in Nokia. Dozens and dozens of feature phone, and some N series phones. Nokia was like in Hindi we say, "Sabka Baap hai." The Godfather of all. The Monopoly Brand, if I say so. People used to ask one another , "Which Nokia do you own?" It meant which model of Nokia one had, where Nokia meant Cellphone. It was such a loved brand. I still use a Nokia feature phone apart from my smart phone. It keeps me rooted to the Physical keypad, that I used to type SMS with, so furiously in the olden day. The pressing of the button is exciting, gives an adrenaline rush. So much full bags of nostalgia. My dear Nokia, you will always be a great contribution to our lives.

It was so much of a delight, each time I started writing one of the above brands. Each gave a tickle of sweet memory. I hope you all have your own brands which you made generic so as to make comfortable to speak of. Most of time we are so attracted by a brand, that we make it generic. We may not know the manufacturers name, but we know the brand name. Our beloved products of daily usage. 

If you have such a list and want to add some more, please do mention in your comments. It will be a great scene of nostalgia for everybody. Let us share our thoughts with the world and make it much ,much more closer than ever. I am eagerly waiting for your beautiful comments.

Have a nice weekend.