Do you recall seeing / eating this stuff? I got so nostalgic spotting this guy vending his merchandise. It used to be called “Javvu Mittai” ( Gum Toffee ). Perhaps this was the forerunner to the chewing gum !
I recall, every vendor of Javvu Mittai used to have a special kind of bell. As a kid, the very ringing of the bell used to make me salivate. Much later i read about Pavlovian experiment of ringing a bell and making a dog salivate. So, i was no different in the altar of science !!
Some days back, i spotted this guy outside office, memories rushed back to my mind. Of javvu mittai. Of full day cricket. Of shorts and T-shirts. Of petty quarrels that would seem to last forever. And forever wouldnt be more than a minute. Endless TV. Lessons. And more than anything else an age of innocence !
Compare it with the present day. A far cry i guess ! Life was much simpler back then. As a kid, the only worry was if dad / mom would allow me to play ! A care free wind used to blow through my hair. An era where smiles and laughter was a way of life.
That desire for play, has just not abated ! The wind continues to blow. It isnt care free, and it does blow through quick. There is less hair and more wear you see !!
The Javvu Mittai brought out memories that were buried away. As various scenes of my life played by in my mind, i walked a slow walk. Times. They had indeed changed.
I quickly thought of my day to day struggles as well. I realised that i wasnt compromising on elements that mattered. This strange sighting of the Javvu Mittai vendor made me walk some inches taller. As realisation dawned that the values that dad / mom / grandma drove in me had still endured !
As much as the times & the scope have changed, the good words had stuck. Just as the salivation. At the sight of the javvu mittai !