The aroma of spices floated through sponsor Joel Barriga’s room as students gathered for the South Asian Student Association’s (SASA) second year of their Maggi and Matchmaking meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 11, after school.
The students ate Maggi instant noodles, a popular delicacy in Indian culture, while watching the popular reality TV show Indian Matchmaking on Netflix. The officers planned out materials, food, and shows, assigning roles to different officers.
“We normally start planning our events a month in advance,” Social Media Manager Sia Kaushik ‘28 said. ”Sahana [Jelakara ‘28] and Bhavana [Prayaga ‘28], our outreach officers, normally make a list of everything we need to bring, and they are the people that help organize what we each need to do.”
The officers were each told to bring certain materials, including cooked Maggi, and bring it to the meeting.
“To prepare for the event, this morning, I made eight servings of Maggi to bring to the meeting,” Kaushik said. “All the officers were assigned to bring something or the other, and we had three or four officers make and bring the Maggi from home. I also bought and brought mango juice for people to drink during the meeting.”
Maggi, a form of wheat-based instant noodles, is renowned for its two-minute cook time, savory masala spice flavor, and soupy nature. Maggi noodles are considered a comfort food in India and have revolutionized Indian snack culture, eaten by millions of South Asians across the world.
“When we were thinking about making a meeting, we knew most Indians like Maggi, and then there’s people who aren’t Indian and like it too,” Kaushik said. “Maggi’s is a unifying thing that most Indians like, so we thought, ‘why not make a meeting where everyone can just come eat Maggi?’”
While students enjoyed their delicacy, they watched Indian Matchmaking, a show that follows matchmaker Sima Taparia as she guides Indian clients through a modern process of arranged marriage.
“Maggi is one of my favorite things ever, and I also enjoy watching Indian Matchmaking, so I just thought this meeting was a perfect match for me,” Saanvi Mittal ‘27 said. “I think I found out about Indian Matchmaking when it was on Netflix, and I saw a lot of stuff on social media about it. Through that, I got interested and wanted to watch the show as well.”
Although SASA celebrates South Indian culture, the organization opens its doors to everyone to celebrate and enjoy the diverse cultural traits of South Asia. By blending food, media, and shared cultural experiences, Maggi and Matchmaking gave students a chance to unwind and connect during a stressful time in the school year.
“My friend told me to come to this meeting, and I honestly didn’t expect it to be this fun,” Lasya Nugala ‘29 said. “I think that Maggi is one of the childhood experiences that most South Asian students have, and Maggi noodles have been one of my comfort foods since I was a child. I like that I can spend time talking to and hanging out with people who have the same childhood experiences as me.”
