Growing up, like most kids, candies and chocolates had a special place in my life and my gums, much to the despair of my mom. Over the years, my palette has matured (or so I’d like to believe), but the memory of one candy still has me grinning widely.
It’s the Magic Pop Crackling Candy, and come what may, I’d happily still hoard the lot if I get a chance.
Magic Pop appeared in a wide variety of flavors, had a texture like crumbled stone, and stuck to the packet, almost as if begging you to scrape it off and eat it – or in extreme cases, lick it off directly from the packet.
However, yum as it was, that wasn’t the highlight of Magic Pop. The highlight was the crackling noise it made, inside your mouth.
That sound was the reason why, as kids, we’d stand with gaping mouths, asking friends, family, and literally, anyone passing by, “crackling sunai di?” (can you hear the crackling?).
Suffice to say, Magic Pop made quick work of any social etiquette that parents tried to teach us.
It was this crackling sound that also turned me and my cousins into fierce competitors, prompting us to empty the complete packet in one go, just so it would make the loudest noise in our mouth.
Of course, we were then left desperately pleading parents, uncles, aunts, and even the older cousins, to buy us more Magic Pop.
I am not sure if it was the thrill of ‘creating’ noise in your mouth, its sweet yet tangy taste, or the simple fact that it was a candy and I was a kid, but eating Magic Pop was a joy like no other.
It’s been years since I’ve greedily consumed my share, stolen my sister’s, and then innocently asked mom to get one for me. But, as they say, there’s no time like the present. And this time around, I am not answerable about the number of packets consumed in one go… or at least, I am better at hiding them from my mom.