E - PAPER

CURRENT ISSUE

LAST ISSUE

VIEW ALL
    • Login
  • HOME
  • COVER STORY
  • CMO INTERVIEWS
  • LATEST NEWS
  • CREATIVE ZONE
  • SPOTLIGHT
  • INTERVIEWS
  • BACKBEAT
  • VIDEOS
  • HAPPENINGS
  • E-PAPER
  • THE TEAM
  • EVENTS
search
  1. Home
  2. Backbeat

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

As a young girl, I clearly recall the family eating out sessions. They were occasions that you would dress up for. In fact I still clearly recall the kind of anticipation that surrounded “the event”.

BY IMPACT Staff
26th February 2012
FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Anisha Motwani

 

CMO, Max New York Life
 

As a young girl, I clearly recall the family eating out sessions. They were occasions that you would dress up for. In fact I still clearly recall the kind of anticipation that surrounded “the event”.
 

Ajmer at that time had only one restaurant called ‘Honeydew’. What is interesting is that I vaguely recall what we ate but what I most certainly recall is the kind of time we, a family of four siblings and our parents, spent with each other. A good three hours is what our ‘eating out’ experience was. We would go out early evening. Starters in the lawn and then we’d move indoors. Easy conversation flowed, jokes floated around and sometimes it was plain ice-breaking (after sibling quarrels). But yes, we had great times, times that each of us still cherish.
 

Somehow, the eating out experience seems to have changed a great deal in India. Over the years, I think we all have become very task-oriented about most things and sadly, eating out is also a part of it. Indians have most certainly changed. Our lifestyles are better, we go to fancier restaurants, know what to order, know what dress codes should be followed but what we seem to be missing is the entire experience of eating out. We all seem to have evolved a very tick-and-go kind of an approach.
 

Eating out today is big entertainment. You ask most people what they like doing and eating out, more often than not, figures in the list. It’s almost like a hobby to a lot of people. In fact, numbers only substantiate what I thought was a trend I’d been noticing.
 

Visiting restaurants is now one of the top three leisure activities for most Indians, according to the Indian Leisure and Entertainment Report 2008-9 (Knowledge Company).
 

The Food Franchising Report 2009 said, “The concept of eating out is surely catching up in India. Compared to 2.7 times a month in 2003, urban Indians now have a repast outdoor six times in a month.” And the figures are for 2008, which most certainly must have gone up. In fact, the report goes on to say that the retail food sector in India is likely to grow to $150 billion by 2025. Today when we go out, the frequency has increased, we book the best restaurants, but then the eating out experience seems to have shrunk by quality if you look in the real sense. People go to restaurants, take a nice table, and look impatient if the waiter hasn’t arrived. And when he does, they will quickly order, wait for the meal. The time in between which was earlier a great window to catch up on family things seems to have been gobbled up by our precision type attitude. Another conversation killer seems to be mobile phones. Either the husband or the wife or sometimes the children are on the phone. If they are not talking, they are showing pictures or videos on the phone to friends, if they are accompanying the eating out entourage. Once the food arrives, it’s a quick meal and we are off. We seem to have evolved a very result-oriented approach to most things. And I’m all for result-oriented approach but not everywhere. Family lunch/dinner for example I think is absolutely not the place for being result-oriented.
 

The idea should be savouring the experience, enjoying conversation, catching up on the small but important things in life that we might have missed out on. For example what your daughter’s teacher had to say about the girl’s fancy dress or how your son is enjoying his cricket lessons... Or simply telling your children about experiences from your childhood. Sometimes it can be inane family jokes. But the idea should be to bond. In fact, thanks to our approach, even restaurants seem to have caught up with our 'eat and leave ways'. I’m sure you have noticed impatient waiters hovering over your table if you haven’t ordered a few minutes after you’ve sat down. Compare that to restaurants and cafes abroad where it is considered rude to have a waiter hovering around.
 

Let’s get the beauty of family outings back, I say. A simple thing to do, for example, would be to order a starter or drinks that help you enjoy longer conversations. Have a relaxed meal and yes, don’t forget to share a sinful dessert together. Life, like they say, is in little moments.
 

 

Feedback:

anisha.motwani@maxnewyorklife.com

  • TAGS :
  • Backbeat

RELATED STORY VIEW MORE

‘Meditation - The Magic It Holds’
Improv And Creativity: Lessons from the Unscripted Stage
Reverse Sweep or Straight Drive? It’s all about Self-Belief and Conviction

TOP STORY

Eclectic and Electric

Anika Agarwal, Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer, Orient Electric, delves into ‘Fatt Se Garam Campaign’, their evolving media mix and the goals that the brand has set for this year


Ads In Focus


Speaking the Consumer’s Language: The Power of Regional Storytelling


NEWS LETTER

Subscribe for our news letter


E - PAPER


  • CURRENT

  • LAST WEEK

Subscribe To Impact Online

BUY IMPACT ONLINE



IMPACT SPECIAL ISSUES


  • Suniel shetty takes the Spotlight

  • Miked Up for Goafest

  • Get Set Goaaa!

  • Anupriya Acharya Tops the IMPACT 50 Most Influenti

  • Advertising Turbocharged

  • A Toast to creativity

  • GOAing towards tech-lead creativity

  • REDISCOVERING ONESELF

  • 50 MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN LIST 2022

  • BACK WITH A BANG!

  • Your Best Coffee Ever

  • PR Commune Magazine June-July 2022

  • 13th-ANNIVERSARY-SPECIAL

  • PR Commune Magazine April 2022

VIDEO GALLERY VIEW MORE

"Retirement should feel like a second debut, not a full stop."

Use your existing account to sign in

I forgot my password

or sign in using apps you love:

New user? Sign up

Get connected with us on social networks!
ABOUT IMPACT

IMPACT was set up in year 2000 with the aim of publishing niche, relevant and quality publications for the marketing, advertising and media professionals.

Useful links

COVER-STORY-60.HTML

CMO-INTERVIEW-5.HTML

JUST-IN.HTML

CREATIVE-ZONE-56.HTML

SPOTLIGHT-8.HTML

INTERVIEW-7.HTML

BACKBEAT-1.HTML

VIDEOS

ALL/HAPPENINGS

HTTP://DIGITAL.IMPACTONNET.COM

HTTPS://WWW.IMPACTONNET.COM/AUTHORS.HTML

HTTPS://E4MEVENTS.COM/

OTHER LINKS

REFUND POLICY

GDPR-COMPLIANCE

COOKIE-POLICY

SITEMAP

PRIVACY-POLICY

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Contact

ADSERT WEB SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. 3'rd Floor, D-40, Sector-2, Noida (Uttar Pradesh), Pincode - 201301

Connect With Us !


Copyright © 2025 impactonnet.com