Ah! For those pearly whites.
As I grappled with my crushed and squeezed beyond recognition tooth paste tube I could not help recollecting memories from the tooth pastes of yore. My grandfather to be specific. He was extremely particular that the tube must be squeezed from the bottom up. Every bit of paste would be painstakingly squeezed upward and the tin tube rolled up increasingly till there was no paste left in there to be extracted. He hated if anyone squeezed the tube from the middle. Almost as if it were an affront to his personal sensibilities.
Along with the tooth paste induced nostalgia trip I couldn’t help remember our home being loyal to Promise tooth powder and Colgate tooth paste for the longest time. Till of course the influence of TV and the uber cool Close Up ads aired. I wanted the red and white close up and persisted till I had it.
After my marriage however, I realized my in laws were partial to Forhans. Yes! That bland white, tasteless tooth paste. My FIL still swears by it. I believe that company has closed shop and he was forced to change but not without a protest. He scoured all the local grocers to find if they had at least one tube of his beloved brand left.
Vicco Vajradanti and Dabur Danthmanjan of course had special place in my thoughts, like the Neem tooth paste my peripa favored. It is amazing how a a simple thing like tooth paste can bring on a wellspring of memories. Sigh!
Looks like your grandfather and my grandmother have a lot in common.
My grandmother has her way of squeezing toothpaste, taking baths (with 5-6 mugs of water), folding clothes - perfection, perfection, perfection. She really deserves a post.
Laksh-
Thanks..visit my blog to pick up your second award…..missed entry during first draft published.
LOL! I am like that too..hate to see the paste squeezed from the middle. We are a Colgate family (pirantha aathule!).
HA! HA! It was the same with us when we were growing up. Mum wouldn’t allow us to take a new tube without making sure the last one was COMPLETELY used up! Re beand - I grew up with Colgate and AM STILL USING IT!!
@Rekha: LOL! Folding clothes. yes thatha was a perfectionist that way too!
I switched to Aquafresh once I moved to the US. It was the closest I could find to Close Up 
@Mitr: Thank you very much. I will put it up on my sidebar tonight
@Anamika: Looks like many of us are picky around here
@Spillay:
vicko vajradanti- i remember the ad and the grins well.
i missed the picnic it seems, looks lovely…lots to say on the concept versus actual, but refrain due to lack of time.
As for the message, i love those words…anyway it was good to catch up. will be back soon.
Like UL, when I saw the Vicco pic I was humming the vicco vajradanti from their ad.
shy
I still use Dabur Red….its very good…and I missed it while I was abroad….
@UL: Guess you had a fair amount of catching up to do. Would love to hear your thoughts on the Actual vs Concept. I think I have an inkling of how you might view it but still curious to see if I read you well.
That was pretty catchy those days right?
It is good. I liked it too. You are making me nostalgic.
@Shy:
@Rupa: Wow. Dabur Lal Danthmanjan!