Ice Packets
No better and cheaper way to beat the heat. In demand and popular from the 80’s and often found only in the small boutique shops, Ice Packets still manages to stay in the picture of most kids childhood. Made only with ice, flavouring and colouring, and packed in clear polythene, it is a refreshing and quite cheap luxury for the hot Sri Lankan weather. Ice packets can be often seen in the hands of little kids walking home from school and in school vans. It is indeed quite shocking how such simple things can always remain relevant and in the centre of little kids heart.
Delta
A popular chewy caramel sweet which needs no introduction to. Delta is available Island wide and often consumed by different age ranges. It is a toffee that has managed to win the hearts of everyone and maintain its traction through the ages of time. The kids who fell in love with them in the 70’s and 80’s are seen to be carrying them around once in a while; Delta can be spotted on office desks quite frequently than expected.
Achcharu
Achcharu cheap enough for many children to afford, has always been an all-time favourite. Achcharu, consisting of fruits such as mango, pineapple, guava and many other varieties, mixed with chilli, make a spicy snack for the after school walk or ride home. A snack where many youngsters don’t really bother about hygiene but focus more on the taste. Once the fingers are dipped inside these chilli and fruit mixed polythene bags, there is no way out. These spicy treat not only light your mouth on fire but also fires your heart.
Bombai Mottai (BM)
Quite popularly known to be the Asian version of cotton candy. This treat spun at small households, are a bit rougher and threadlike compared to cotton candy. The presence of BM seller is felt by the ringing of a bell and the repetitive announcement of his arrival. A signal which lights up every kids heart and makes them fumble through their backpacks looking for their money pouches because who ever had wallets this young? The BM sellers are still found near school and parks. Bombai Mottai has no plans on leaving the children’s childhood anytime soon.
Ice popsicles
Even though the brands and nature of ice cream or ice on sticks has changed, these refreshers have been around since the 70’s. In the 70’s, ice cream popsicles came in foil covers from Elephant House. Then the Jumbo Jolly and Wonder Bar fever took over in the 2000’s and changed the entire landscape of dessert on a stick in Sri Lanka. The creamy and vanilla flavouring in the 70’s were replaced by the wonder bar in the 2000’s but the jumbo jolly craze completely took over schools with their orange and lime flavour and later Necto, a tongue reddening sugary delight.
Childhood snacks will always be close to our hearts since they have the power to take us back in time and surround us with that nostalgic feeling. Some snacks we indulged in our childhood is luckily still around. But, the ones which faded into history will always remain in our hearts. Do let us know which ones were your favourite snacks?
