Potato Chips

I'll tell you what I've been getting a kick out of recently. Last time Jarrod was here, Lays India had a potato chip contest where they had four different, India-only flavors and you would vote on your favorite. The one with the most votes, of course, got to stay in production. Jarrod got very attached to the Mint Mischief flavor (as did I when he brought a bag home...delicious), but the Indian people, on the other hand, did not, and ended up voting for Magic Masala.

Interestingly enough, Magic Masala was the first snack food item I bought after I got off the plane in Delhi, as well as the snack that Jarrod brought to the airport for me to eat on the cab ride back! What can I say, there's a reason I married the guy.

Well anyway, now there's a new chip contest going on. Same rules, different flavors. And these ones are four peoples' suggestions, whereas the last contest I'm not sure who came up with the flavors.

So that's what's been entertaining me recently: trying to try all four flavors so I can vote. I only have four left. These are the flavors:

Shipra's Tangy Twist--a combination of lemon and chili, which doesn't sound very good, bit it's actually my favorite so far.

Sagar's Mastana Mango--a spicy chip with mango undertones, Jarrod refused to eat any more after his first chip. Yeah, they were weird. Unfortunately, they're winning the contest. Oh wait, according to the website, it just won the contest. Dang.

Shouvick's Hip Hop Honey and Chili--similar to Mastana Mango, but instead of the sweet mango undertones, it's just plain sweet.

Mansi's Cheezy Mexicana--This is the last one I have to try, provided I can find it, since apparently the contest is done!

Anyway, it's funny, because on the bags are pictures of the originator of the flavor with a painted representation on their cheek. But it's weird...because all of them are pale-skinned. Jarrod and I were discussing this. Are the people on the chip bags actually the originators, or just models? Or did Lays choose several flavors, and then chose the final four based on the paleness of the originators' skin? Or maybe they're just photoshopped to look pale.

There's something I'm not mentioning here if you're confused--India loves pale skin. Women walk around with umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun. All the actors and actresses here have pale skin. There are advertisements everywhere for "Vivel Fair Cream", a cream that turns the glum-looking dark-skinned model very happy and fair-skinned. Jarrod even got asked to be an extra in a film yesterday...because they were looking for foreigners.

So I don't know. It's interesting. Anyway, here's the commercial for the chips. It's pretty silly. There's also a website with interviews of the flavor creators and tons of other stuff. I've got to go now, because Jarrod needs to conduct business on our one functioning-internet computer. But I'll be back Tuesday with more awesomeness.



--Emily