February 13, 2013

The Colour Of Candyfloss



Sharmaji and I take a leisurely walk across the bridge over Brahma Sarovar in Kurukshetra.

A bite of candy floss to sweeten the stroll would’ve added just the right touch to a listless morning, a far cry from when the Mahabharata eventually culminated in a ferocious finish about this very place in Haryana in the distant past.


I had noticed a speck of pink in the distance. In time the speck grew larger, revealing a youth selling candy floss by the side of the road.

If he thought no one would notice the pink candyfloss packs raised on his stick, he was probably right. It was easy to miss them in the distance, more so in the morning haze that had settled over the legendary lake.

There had to be a better way to help strollers notice them from a distance.


Clad in a shirt intensely, and most likely intentionally, pink, he probably hoped to draw pilgrim attention to the only thing pink and edible in those parts – candy floss. Wandering pilgrim eyes would see him in the distance, catch the pink of his shirt for candyfloss and be drawn to the neatly wrapped packs of pink once they neared him and made them out on the raised stick.

Except when I saw him first, drawn by the unusual colour of his shirt, I missed the candy floss packs for his shirt. It was the reverse of missing the forest for the trees.

I had missed the trees for the forest.

The nature of seeing was once again determined by the gaps it sought to fill, but didn't.

I wonder if the nature of perception is any different.

9 comments:

Lucy said...

'Rose bonbon' in French, for the colour, 'barbe a papa - daddy's beard' for the sweet !

I do rather like candy floss (and nice to hear it called that instead of cotton candy), but I like it wound round a stick, and watching the making of it is part of the fun. Getting wasps stuck in it isn't...

Connie said...

Great post, Anil. It's ironic that it was his shirt that attracted your attention instead of the candyfloss. Nice photos. I liked this post.

NRIGirl said...

Now Anil P. You must explain what this candy floss tastes like. I wonder if it is another name for cotton candy which is my favorite.

Anuradha Shankar said...

That first image is stunning!! its not what I had imagined Kurukshetra to be like.. which only serves to remind me that I shd go there soon!!! as to the candy floss, that only makes my mouth water!

anan said...

i remember in my childhood me and my brother used to point towards the candyfloss and ask our dad to buy us buddhi mai ka baal (as its fondly called in hindi)so that we can savour the sweet treat.
thanks for the sweet memory anil.

Riot Kitty said...

That is a neat story, and gorgeous color in the photo.

Indian Bazaars said...

When we were little, the candy floss would be in a glass case and the vendor could be heard before he could be seen, the bell he carried in his hand, it was a sound we knew so well...

austere said...

Candyfloss?! That's budhiya ka baal. :))

Are you familiar with Jan Chipchase's blog?

NRIGirl said...

Hi Anil! You have been awarded! Please check out my latest post!