PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

                                                                                 Toffee

                                                                                 =====

Long ,long ago in a small district town of Oz there lived a tiny toddler named Guz.His parents weren't very well off  moneywise but the neighbourhood guys loved them for their niceties which was not a rarity 60 years ago.Now Guz went to Nursery class and was amazed at the sight of a very very old plump lady whom the children nicknamed "Budi Miss" She was white haired but very very nice to the small children.Budi Miss had on a table a biscuit tin filled with sugar candy.Huge delicious balls of sweet pleasure. Attractive enough to Guz to cry seeing his friends buy the sweets from her and suck on them for a long long time. Their chins drooled with the sticky sugar syrup but not a single morsel went to waste.One day Guz cried his heart out before his loving Mama who gave him a "paisa" to buy a single sweet from Budi Miss. Guz was overjoyed. He almost ran to school that day with his trusted maidservant Santo.Guz bought one sweet and sucked at it for over half an hour.He was so so happy.

From the Nursery school Guz went to a high school.There again there was another delicacy "Haddi Kora" which is a teeth breaking hard sweet made from peanuts and jaggery.Cost one paise.Again Guz never had a chance to test his teeth apart from a once in a blue moon share from a friend.Rarely on some extra special day Guz purchased a single Haddi Kora and teased his teeth and palate. His upper and lower jaw's teeth got fixed together making the sweet even more tasty. It was a long while before the Haddi Kora was finished.

Then Guz was promoted  to Class five . His eyes fell on his friends devouring "dahi baras" and "aloo dum" which were very spicy and a mite sour. The treat came at around four annas.Guz never ever got to eat these delicacies except the bits shared by his rich friends who came to school in cycle rickshaws.Guz walked to school with Santo.

You are all wondering where the title "Toffee" came on.It could have been "Guz" or something else. Let me clarify.In Class Five Guz used to be a performer in school concerts and recitation. He was very fair by Indian standards and almost red when angry or upset.So he was an obvious choice for stage acts.But Guz had a small drawback.He had a stutter and stammer. When his words got stuck they really stuck.His school friends made fun of him despite his excellent academic performance.Again I am sorry for evading hitting the nail on the head.During the school's Founders Day there was a fete where there were stalls selling ice-cream,tofees,chocolates,"baromaja" ,"chanachur" and soft drinks. No. None heard of Pizzas or Egg Rolls or noodles at that time.Romton chocolates were cheaper than Cadburys and even cheaper were small toffees manufactured by Indian companies.They lasted a full four/five long minutes if not chewed.Chew and it is over. All the fun all the happiness a child could get.But alas ! Guz never got to nibble on a Romton or Cadburys. But on each Founders Day he got to suck on Mortons toffee.So this is all about the wee Little Guz and his toffee mania.