90s Rewind: Bombay Candy Memories

Bombay (membrane) candy sellers used to roam the streets of the day carrying a colorful toy on a long stick. The candy doll is dressed in a gown in some eye-catching color like green, red, orange, blue.

The Clap Clap Doll makes the bell ring rapidly ‘ding… ding…’ and the vendors call out the children inside the house shouting ‘Bombay Candy… Bombay Candy…’. Children would run to the sound of the toy after buying four or fifty coins from their parents. Candy is a toy. The toy is the candy. This means that the bottom of the toy melts into candy and gives excitement to the little ones.

There are many forms

The toy candy comes in shapes like clock, flower, peacock, necklace, ring, elephant, scorpion, crane, snake etc. Confectioners are experts in the art of transforming candies into shapes that children love. Cute shapes are formed in a few seconds and the kids can find shelter as candy. Artisan confections are hand-picked and born on the streets. Not only kids, adults are also fans of Bombay Candy.

A figure that melts on the tongue

The desire to taste and eat the bought sweets prevails. But the mind is not so quick to destroy a wrist watch or other objects that have been received as candy. After a while, the candy’s taste memories will dissolve on the tongue to trigger eating. It is also a special pleasure to bite into the watch from where it is tied. A watch candy is what many boys love to ask for. Many people prefer that the seller ties the watch candy to the wrist. The Bombay Candy watch gives you the satisfaction of wearing an expensive watch.

During the festival days, Bombay sells sweets. Five or six sellers will compete and enter the sale. All the kids in the festival area have some form of Bombay candy in their hands.

The taste of Bombay sweets, which is born with the help of milk, sugar and lemon, sticks sweetly on the tongue. Gums also cling to the gums. Elders at home would warn that ‘if you eat Bombay candy, you should blow your mouth properly… otherwise your teeth will fall out’.

Bombay candies are aptly called Membrane candies. There will also be children who will show off their skills by buying the right amount of candy from the toy. They create new shapes with Bombay candies and express their imagination with toy candies.

Melting Candy Toy

If the bottom of the toy melts, it means increased business for the seller. Children wait for Bombay Candy’s arrival to pass the candy and visit the doll and enjoy the doll’s winking and clapping. You can see men selling Bombay sweets sometimes walking carrying dolls and sometimes crawling on bicycles. Very rarely in the late 90’s we could also see people selling in TVS carts.

Over time the number of Bombay candy sellers began to decline gradually. After new chocolate varieties were introduced to children through commercial tactics, the cute toy’s demise began. Vendors who had been selling Bombay sweets for a long time also sought other professions. Now you can hardly see any of them.

Wherever you see a Bombay Candy doll, there is no doubt that many will have childhood memories!

Essayist, Government Psychologist
Contact: drvikramkumar86@gmail.com