Our hotel toiletries have been cause of amusement for us throughout the journey. In some places, we get everything-soap, shampoo, conditioner and even moisturiser. Some places replace bathing soap with shower gel or give both. Some don’t give anything till we call the hotel staff. Some have two pairs of the toiletories-two shampoo, two shower gels. Dental kit and shaving kits are rarely given. Also, most hotels, even though low budget, are able to get some sort of branding on them.
But one product that steadily made its way through to our hotel (bath)rooms in southern states, without any hotel branding on it for most part, was the Medimix soap. The popular ayurvedic/herbal soap, slipped through many a doors of the hotel rooms we stayed in. Its appearances were consistent till we made it to Mysore where the local (and older) Mysore sandal soap took over for a brief bit.
Medimix started at a very small scale from the efforts of a retired Indian Railway employee (Dr. VP Sidhan) hailing from a Kerala family of Ayurvedic practitioners. Over the years, the classic Medimix soap's branding hasn’t compromised itself in its colour, size, smell etc. over the years. It is still handmade with a mix of 18 herbs in a coconut oil base. The lack of hotel's branding on it is probably the hotels’ way of expressing their respect for the brand this soap is. Its growth story has been phenomenal despite its no-frill advertising and marketing and simple packaging.
Soaps are obtained through a process of ‘saponification’ where an alkali/base reacts with oil/fatty acids. (For those trying to run through their memory of organic chemistry classes, soap is a ‘salt’ of fatty acids where glycerin is also produced as a by-product and makes the soap, soapy.) With incredible demand and the industrial scale of production, Medimix manufacturing involves dealing with large quantities (hot oil, part-processed and finished products). One can fathom the scale of its operation by the fact that it manages to produce over 100 million soaps every year!! What is difficult to fathom though is that it uses minimal electricity in the process. The entire process is completely manual using hand-operated mechanized devices with gravity playing an important role. We incidentally passed some of the areas where these factories are located including Tada and Pondicherry. We also ate at Sanjeevanam, groups' restaurant which specializes in nutritious vegetarian and yet delicious food.
We have reached Andhra and Medimix still maintains its small but definite presence. And everytime we open a new pack and hold the soap, it is fascinating to think that the last time someone held the soap was to pack it. And action of our hands to open and of those hands to pack, would be the same if recorded in reverse!! Just four hands separated with infinite possible units of time and space.