Mimi Chocolate to Popeye: A walk down memory lane

55-year-old retired banker Mr Abdul Momin has been an ardent lover of street food since childhood. When asked what reminds him of the childhood he spent in Dhaka, Mr Momin said, "Back when I was four or five years old, we had a vendor who used to come to sell kulfi in our neighbourhood. I have never had tastier kulfi than what the guy offered."

As the writer continued to discuss the nostalgic days of childhood, Mr Momin delved deeper into the memory of the happy and carefree times.

He recollects," We used to be so happy if we could get chocolates in exchange for little things. Nowadays, it's a hard job to make children happy."

Did Dhaka from his childhood resemble the Dhaka we know now? No, Dhaka, where he spent the most amazing time of his life, was vastly different, along with its charm.

Such colourful chanachurwala is a rare sight in Dhaka today

There used to be chanachurwalas – clad in colourful clothes with a tin box in one hand and toys for the children in the other, roaming the Dhaka streets. Vendors sold chocolates at two or three paisa, and toys in exchange for rice or other food items.

To those children, no chanachur from any brand would have tasted better than that from those magical tin boxes in exchange for a taka or two.

Back then, a sweet snack named kodma was extremely popular among kids. Also, who can forget the legendary Mimi chocolate? It might not taste like the newer fancy chocolates today, yet, it had a different appeal.

Kodma, monda and other sweetened foods in Baishakhi Mela

Kids who grew up in the early '90s still remember this happy memory. Samiha Rahman, a practising lawyer, shared," My father used to bring Mimi chocolate for me when I was a child. It was a gift if I could finish my homework early."

Although the original Mimi chocolate no more exists, its memory continues to be alive among those who tasted it in their childhood.              



Mimi Chocolate that we grew up with

Mr Mehedi, a teacher by profession and father of two, spent his childhood in Old Dhaka. In those days, every alley, open road, field, backyard, and rooftop used to be the playground for children and youths.

Getting out of the home in the afternoon with mother's permission and playing different games that we no more hear about used to be their lifestyle. Gollachut, bowchi, borof pani, dariabandha, chowachowi, '90s kids cannot forget these names.

While these games do not exist now, neither we have open fields to let the children play.

"We used to have so much fun playing different games all afternoon. Now I can't even send my son to a park as there is none good enough," regrets Mehedi.

In those days, there were no Netflix, YouTube, or hundreds of tv shows to choose from. There was only one channel, BTV, which was quite different from the channels we watch today. Every

Special family gatherings and merry occasions for the city dwellers used to happen every Friday. Waiting in front of the tv set for 'Aj Robibar,' 'Kothao Keu nei,' 'Alif Laila,' etc., used to be festive.

The children used to finish their homework early so that they could enjoy Mickey mouse, Spiderman, Aladin, Popeye, and popular shows.

Those days were different, a part of a distant dream in the lives of busy office-goers today, yet those were the golden age for the residents of Dhaka.

Every person who lived in the nostalgic Dhaka of the '80s and '90s misses some part of it. While we accept change as the only constant, we continue living in the memories of those times.

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