Came across something today.
Those from the 90s and before will surely recognize this.
Called “orange mittai”, these sugar candies were (and still are) the tastiest among the simple candy options that we had when we were growing up.
One could get these for a ridiculously low amount of money (I guess they were 5 paisa each?) and munch them through the day.
I had more than one case of stomach ache from eating too many of these, when I was little.
No packaging, no branding, stored in glass jars for little connoisseurs to ogle at, and then packed in cut newspaper when demanded and paid for. Lightly flavored, but mostly just sugar:))
I put this on my WhatsApp stories today and the response was tremendous. I guess I jogged too many memories…including mine.
Humans don’t change fundamentally. The simple pleasures that we derived then can now be seen in our infants.
We bought him many “well-researched” toys, claiming to aide brain development and muscular co-ordination, but our pal doesn’t care for them one bit. He is more than happy rattling an empty box of yoghurt or a cardboard box with little monetary, utility or aesthetic value.
Every morning he wakes, crawls over to his playpen, and carefully takes out the German toys before reaching the yoghurt container, and waves it around with a triumphant look on his face. His most prized-possession. Who would have thought that Almarai doesn’t just make dairy products, but an infant’s day too?
It’s only when we grow up that it becomes difficult to satisfy us, and so we set out on this long and fruitless rat race in the urge to fulfill our material desires, foregoing the simple things in life than brought us joy once upon a time.
To think that maturity and education would add up to this, seems a bit paradoxical, don’t you think?
See you tomorrow!