Rainy days and hot Ovaltine

Rainy days such as these, I find myself reaching for the glass jar of Ovaltine on my dining table. You cannot get Ovaltine anymore in India. My jar is from Abu Dhabi. Picked up from a shopping mall by a thoughtful friend. I cannot understand why if it’s available there, Ovaltine cannot be sold here. Most people of my generation will remember the chocolate-flavored malt dairy drink full of vitamins, minerals, and proteins that was popular in the 1970s. But more than having hot Ovaltine at night, I used to like slyly eating the granules out of the tin by the spoonful. They had a slightly bitter, chocolaty flavor.

There were other bedtime drinks also then. Like Bournvita. I didn’t care much for Bournvita. But I religiously followed Hamid Sayani’s ‘Bournvita Quiz Contest’ on All India Radio for schoolchildren every Sunday afternoon. It came at 1.30 pm on Vividh Bharti. And there was Horlicks. Another malt dairy drink. But I fought against having Horlicks because it was meant for infants, invalids, and the aged. Complan was there too, sold as a complete food, or a nutritional supplement for seniors. There was nothing wrong with a growing boy’s nutrition. So I was not given any Complan.

Boost came later. Yet another chocolate-flavored malt dairy drink packed with a stamina-building formula. It was the most popular because Boost was the secret of Kapil Dev’s energy. But by the time Kapil Dev began playing cricket for India, I had finished school and was drinking tea in Irani cafes. I cannot imagine drinking Boost or Horlicks or Bournvita on cold, wet, and weepy days like we are having. This is the perfect weather for Ovaltine. It sounds just right, too. I think you can order it online. Which is what I intend to do when my Abu Dhabi jar gets over. Because I have found that I have not outgrown the taste of Ovaltine.

About Mark Manuel

The above thoughts/content has been proudly copied from the wall of Sir Mark Manuel. Being interviewing almost every role model of this country and going stronger each day. Mark Manuel is a respected Mumbai editor, writer, and columnist.

With over three decades of journalism in leading publications. This includes the Free Press Journal, Times, Dainik Bhaskar, Mid-Day, and Afternoon. He is famous for his brilliant pen interviews. He himself is a TEDx speaker.

Further

His interviews have featured in several leading media houses. They include the Hindustan Times, Huffington Post, BBC, and Network 18. Almost every famous person has been interviewed by him in the country from Mother Teresa to Muhammad Ali. His first book is just out. It’s titled Moryaa Re! It is a crime thriller that is perhaps the country’s first police procedural. He began his career covering crime. And in a tribute to his experience and knowledge of this beat.

Several distinguished officers of the Mumbai Police and its Crime Branch collaborated with him to make this book possible. Amitabh Bachchan wrote the forward in a statement of friendship for Mark Manuel and admiration for his work.

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