Memories Of Food - Butter Biscuit

Butter biscuit imposter

There were little golden discs stacked inside a glass jar. Towers of forbidden delights. It's only 50 paisa each, I'd plead with Amma who for some unfathomable reason was against me buying loosely-sold food. Her ban only made the butter biscuits at Chettiar quad more attractive, Someone once bought me one and the biscuit tumbled in my mouth all too easily leaving me to lick my fingers for hours. The taste lingered in my memory for days afterwards.

I cannot remember how or when I stopped pestering for butter biscuits. May be it was a case of sour grapes (bitter biscuits?). May be I just grew up, I cannot tell. Not long ago, I gave into my son's nagging and bought a packet of All-Butter Shortbread. I was tempted to pick one for myself but stopped short. It somehow didn't look right inside a packet. It belonged in a glass jar on a grime-laden counter with a watchful old man sitting behind it.