My childhood days were spent in the quiet lanes of a small town in Assam. Sundays meant playing outdoors till mid-noon, until we got that final call from parents to get in. It was then the ribbon candy man came to our neighborhood. His bicycle made a strange buzzing noise. He mostly came in Sundays afternoon. A whole bunch of children would flock around him.
He pulled out a bit of sugar ribbon (a white one with three stripes of red in between) from that magic box of his. We would stand around that white piece in his hand and wonder what would he make of it today. Yes, it was not just a blob of sugar ribbon. Because soon our candy man would turn them into a beautiful peacock, vanity bag, rose or a fish - in seconds. It remained not just a candy but a toy. We had in our palms 10 or 20 paisa which we exchanged for those toys. Or candy. Whatever you think. The toy,or candy brought gleam to our eyes. And it brought a smile at our candyman's face.
The candyman was a craftsman, a talented one. He was a master in the craft of making toys out of simple sugar candy. And that art brought smiles to us.
In our walk of life we find so many such candy man - one who tries to do a little bit different, from their usual routine. And that sprinkles some sweetness in our memories.
Jhaalmuri salutes such skilled craftsman. Share your story of your candyman. Those who had brought a smile or still brings a lovely rush of memory.
 |
| Ribbon Candy: Pic from Betty's CookNook |
Article by Suparna Chakraborti
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please share your valuable feedback