The display window

This is for you...the person, just so instrumental in making me continuing with the blog, (always asking...have you written anything recently??? and bookmarking my blog) which would have faded out after a while. I never really dedicated anything for you. But today and for this memory I dedicate this to you. Thanks Umang :) hope you keep me encouraging as much as you have before. Even if you are only one who reads it and sends a lovely opinion. Thanks again, and pls pls pls keep reading:)

I am a libran and I love color. color and variety in every form. But what actually holds my interest are display windows.
I like to see clothes display so that I get a hint of current trend and colors. I see Saree display at some of the shops, and when I find a "piece" I can buy for my mother or MIL. I love to see shoe displays as even if I am not shoeholic...I do love to see different designs and trends in shoes. what really holds my interest are small display "dabbas" at the local biscuitwala or grocery store. it is from these shops that I got my first taste or kasuri methi and kalounji... supermarkets hold less appeal to me. I try to but they just seem so cold.
I remember now defunct shop in the market near my mother's place. it was a real "4by4" shop that sold biscuits and farsan of all kinds.I didn't insist my mother or grandmother (on Saturdays when we had weekly "chutti" from school and I tagged along with her to the nearby temple)anytime but yes when she asked it was always "AA sweets kaju wadi (again defunct)". There were tangy small spheres coated in red/maroon or black and insides was surprisingly tangy. there were "extra strong" big and small coins , then there were multicolored or peppermint pellets (insides of mint with a hole), there were ravalgaon toffees and milk "golis" and who can forget "zebra" golis which had black and white stripes all over, tasting pepperminty.
Coffee bites were rare and so were catburys eclairs (which came in gold,orange and brown cover then) they were that rare treat but yes these chocolates were at our disposal and always confused libran asked for all...a small bit of this and that. There was jeera goli and "badishep" which was fennel seeds/saunf encased in hard boiled colorful sugar, there were "goldcoins" of caramel and "cigarette boxes" with long sticks of peppermint with tops in pink, and which had some kind of cartoon photo as free gift (without that advertised, on the small rectangular carton or otherwise). there were long thin plastic packets which contained red, green and yellow sugar balls and "paan masala", the yellow and red transparent covered white lollipops of some nameless company..the "parle" rose mint and peppermint (incidentally most or all of these toffees or chocolates (we called all candy as chocolates whether they had chocolate flavour or not) are now extinct, except rose mint that I tasted recently, some of the biscuit types like "top" or "embassy cream" biscuits too are no longer existing). there were animal shape/ ramakada biscuits and those which had alphabets written on them, then there were small button biscuits ... there were long ribbons of red fiery spicy banana wafers, a bit milder miri wafers and tasty "kela" wafers. though all three were made of kela or raw banana...we had names to distinguish all three."miri" never held much interest but "kela" and "tikhat(spicy)" wafers still hold my sister's and my interest. next was farsaan and "bhavnagri" gathi which were fried snacks with lots of ajwain or "jaadi/fat" gathi, which I still love with spicy chilly garlic sauce. There was "tikhat/spicy" or "saada"potato sali and of course some unknown company's potato wafers, which then came only in classic salted flavour, and without the frill..."Lays" somehow didn't make an entry in the market and minds till then.
Display windows also take me to see punjabi ghasitaram "anarkali" and "chumchum" and all such decorated bangali sweets of punjabi ghasitaram...again I could never make a choice here. and though I took something very preety I could never bring my self to eat it, that delicate confection.
it was then. but now I see these and such display windows for sole reason...to find some such gems which are somehow lost in the history of time...just to give a hint of what a simple childhood it was then...minus demands, minus brands and minus a lot of cartoon network.