Sprite TV Ad reminds me of my hostel days in Mysore

These days TV commercials are very entertaining. During my hostel days in Mysore, I recall watching ads which said “buy a toothpaste and get one matchbox free”, the ad was serious about the offer but it was hilarious for us. That was the level of creativity during those days.

Cool drink commercials (even though I don’t consume any of those – not that anybody cares) does make me smile. Watch the new one from Sprite,

I studied and stayed in the college hostel in Mysore. Many Bangaloreans use to shuttle to Bangalore during weekends. As early as in the late 1980s the Karnataka government had excellent bus service (KSRTC) between Bangalore and Mysore.

One of my seniors, nicknamed ‘Ham Ram’, was occupying one of the seats in the bus to Bangalore. A young girl (stranger) came in and asked him to ‘hold’ the seat for her (this was an ultimate achievement for any guy!). He was all excited, waited, waited patiently. Finally, she came, not alone but with her ‘granny’ and told him “This is my ajji [granny] going to Bangalore alone, please take care of her”. Before he could catch his breath the babe was gone.

Needless to say, the version which went around the hostel was very different – he supposedly combed his hair, wiped the seat beside him, was in all smiles until the girl punctured the dream balloon. To me, this Sprite advertisement is very similar to this incident.

• 25 years since I graduated from SJCE, Mysore
• My memories from hostel days at SJCE, Mysore