Boost your brains!
Welcome back!
Long long ago, much before Viagra mails started flooding your Spam,some other part of the human body was the focus of everybody’s attention.
I am referring to the IQ improving tips and tricks, ya…brains!
Apart from the edible form of IQ enhancers, Raj Bapna’s Mind Machine was my favorite. I used to read carefully every word of his ad which had as much text as a Harry Potter series, all compressed,boxed(sic),into one page!
Probably his ad remains the oldest running print ad campaign in India.Even though I never believed his ads,I admired his ability to use all possible words synonymous with intelligence in India;IIT, IIMs ,100% and to highlight that he was from BITS Pilani, was an NTSE Scholar and he topped RAJ board.(The content of the ad is recollected from my memory,blame it on not using his kit for any errors!!!).Magazines like Competition Success Review gathered most of their ad revenue from such brain stimulators.
Even newspapers and TV were not spared.The pre-internet era oldies like me, got to see a lot of it. From hazaar brands using the word Memory and Brains (Memory Plus, Memory Booster,Brainvita-Bournvita’s distant cousin) to authentic (!!!) ayurvedic straight out of the forest concoction of random herbs with the must must ingredient Brahmi, I was bombarded with brain bettering methods.We Indians had enough Ayurvedic background and a (false?) notion that we were the best IQ race to come up with the most novel techniques and drugs to better one’s brains.
In most of these ads, the funniest of the testimonials and recommendations could be found. From an easily recognizable fake Dr.PK Agnihotri, HOD, Psychology, University of Lokhandwala to Amit Sinha,X/XII(NP State Board,Rank 2 and 1)IIT(Kanpur,Computer Science),MS(University of Abraska),IIM(All calls,rejected)!
The TV ads for the edible boosters would have mom’s declaring how their “weak” kid, became a class topper within a month of Brainvita!
These drugs were all meant to increase the speed at which we think,to make us learn better,increase memory by 89% and to get an admission into one of those better places of professional education.
I would have won at least one memory test in school, blame it on my parents not buying these stories! 
I don’t see many of the IQ boosting ads these days.Has the Indian obsession for brains come down? Aren’t we thinking about IQ any longer? (EQ is cool I know, now people coming with a lot of 2 lettered Qs)
I still believe I missed out a lot of these things, and the world lost an Einstein ! 
LOL!!!
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6 comments
Don’t talk to me abt competition success.. that magazine has the smallest print and the worst paper one can think abt.. those ads didn’t look like ads in that mag..
n both were supposed to enhance our iq.. one with a lot of trivia other with a lot of trivia on how their package could help in doing it!
made for each other, I say!
Nice one! Seen a couple o these ad’s as a kid too. Perhaps it didn’t register in my mind as much as it did in yours for Obvious reasons. But I do wish you had heeded some of that advice…:P
Good Post. Dint know these things were alive till your times too. Whaen I talk to you guys it feels as if you were born in a wi fi ..highly computerised hospital…:P
Nice post
I do rem being jealous of some of my class mates who had brought this stuff and my father telling me it was a hoax…those were the times I felt he loved me less
Hindsight makes it oh so beautiful!!!
The world need not worry
Einstein is here 
Gud post dude…
I never thought there were people like who were crazy about Raj bapna’s study techniques.I always wanted to buy it.It was worth 250 rs. and at that time when was in 7th or so, it was a big amount foe me.But i also used to read each word in his add and assumed i am getting more brainy reading that.there were lots of quotes from Indian Express,Outlook and X standard students who passed out with flying colours,glorifying the techniques.he he..
It is nice to read that there are people who had similar thoughts as mine…:-)
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