Wednesday, April 13, 2005

The sweet taste of memory

When we were growing up, we used to have something called ‘chocolate’. Except that it was not. It was hard-boiled toffee, I later learnt. The real stuff, the one made of cocoa, those were referred to as ‘Cadburys’. And this we saw rarely of. Anyway, into our world of limited choice came a rare treat courtesy of a peripatetic sailor uncle. One day, he came home with a packet of crisp, golden, feather-light ‘sweets’. We didn’t have a name for it and so came to refer to it as ‘foreign chocolate’ (what else!). Foreign was a country outside India and chocolate was anything sweet. These tiny balls of heaven were strictly rationed and we’d carry our share to school in the top rack of our two-tier tiffin box.

Years later, as I was browsing through the aisles of an impersonal supermarket in a ‘developed’ country, I chanced upon a carton that had pictures of honey-coloured globes. The box read ‘Breakfast Boulders’ and I knew I had to get it. I ripped open the pack as soon as we got home and when the first of those boulders melted in my mouth, a mystery was laid to rest. I called my sister the following day and told her that I had found ‘foreign chocolate’. She understood instantly. “How does it taste?”, she asked. “Just like it did when I was 11 and you were 9, all those years ago”, I replied.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice one Ammani. It is amazing how very subtle tastes and smells take you back years. I don't want to grow up yet :(

Shammi said...

Yep, I can remember those "sweets" :) But the first time I had real chocolate from abroad - even the ubiquitous Cadbury's - I was surprised at how much better they were quality-wise compared to the Indian version. They were (are) also cloyingly sweet... way sweeter than the "Indian Cadbury's". Dont care for chocolates and most sweets, in any case :)

Anonymous said...

Akka...

Gnabagam varudae.. Gnabagam varudae.. Pokkishamaaga pudaindu vaittha "Anda Chocolate" saapta gnabagam varudae!

AF said...

I don't care much for Chocolates...but even so the taste of the Cadbury's is the best.
We had got a Hazelnut Cadbury from Canada and it was the best I had ever tasted, I have never found such a variety in the US.

AF

Suguna said...

hmm so a sweet tooth for a sweet blogger

Harish said...

I don't wanna grow up either :(

honey-coloured globes

when the first of those boulders melted in my mouth,


aaarrggghhh! this is torture! :"(

S m i t h a said...

You wont believe it... my story is the same.. when-i-was-a-kid/uncle/foreign chocolate/tiffin-box... but havent come to the revealing of the mystery part yet :( wish me luck!

Harish said...

You have candies, sweets and Cadbury's on ur ads now! :)

ammani said...

Vidya,
What do you mean 'us' (our generation)? Haven't you heard, I'm still in my late teens? Hahaha :)

Harish,
You can safely say there's no danger of you growing up. Not in the near future anyway ;)
-a

Unknown said...

and how did you end up in this foreign country? Curiosity wont leave me alone now!