Enchanted by Pop-Biscuits

Up and up the Faraway Tree they went,

wondering what folk lived behing those little windows...

They knocked at a little round door and the loveliest little elf answered.

"You look hot and tired..." she said,

" come and have some pop biscuits, I've just finished baking them".

The Enchanted Wood, and more particularly the giant Faraway Tree, whose top touches lands such as the land of presents and the land of parties, is every child's dream woven into words. Whenever I sat down to read this memorable book, I saw to it that I had something to eat... for how are you supposed to survive those hunger-pangs when you read about the mouth-watering Google-Buns and Pop-Biscuits that Silky the elf bakes or the Toffee-Shocks and hundred different kinds of jams that Moon-Face keeps?

Pop-Biscuits appeared to me the most delicious eatables of all time, what with the honey filling your mouth as soon as you bit into them. I was pretty crazy about the Enchanted Wood as a child and even pretended that the discarded steel shelf in my room was the Faraway Tree. I used to put my sister on the top-shelf and pretend she was Silky, busily baking Pop-Biscuits for her friends (that was me and a host of imaginary people). I would lazily climb the tree, shelf by shelf, picking up an imaginary apple from this branch, a cherry from the other, chatting up Moon-Face and the Saucepan-Man, who lived a shelf below Silky, and finally reach Silky's house where we would gorge on the pop-biscuits.

The Saucepan Man with his saucepans

These biscuits were such a fascination with me, I even put them on the menu when we played Restaurant (yeah, you read that right). When my sister royally walked in and ordered Pop-Biscuits, she would be served Brittania biscuits with honey poured over them. People planning to visit me don't need to be worried, my Restaurant doesn't serve such Pop-Biscuits anymore. But although I grew up, the Enchanted Wood never faded from my memory.

In college I had an amazing time discussing books, right from Atlas Shrugged to the Alchemist with my friend Megha. We never discussed Enchanted Wood and Pop-Biscuits somehow, but they came back in our lives in a most amazing fashion. My friend Daniel, who is also my senior in college, happened to bring me Eclairs on one of his visits. I had never eaten Eclairs before, so I just thought they were regular cookies. I gave some to perenially hungry Megha and went off to do some work. Late at night, hunger struck and I remembered the eclairs and brought them out. I bit into one, and I thought for a moment that honey flew into my mouth. I looked at the cookie in surprise and realised it was filled with cream, not honey. But it was a pleasant surprise all the same, to taste something that really could be my beloved Pop-Biscuits. I rushed to Megha's room and asked, "Megha, woh cookies khaye?"

She was all excitement too, " Haan haan, woh ekdum Silky wale biscuits jaise the na?"

Eclairs-nee-Pop Biscuits

We stared at each other. It was like discovering my friend all over again. She had read the Enchanted Wood too! She knew about Pop-Biscuits!! We were soon talking away like crazy, analysing the Angry Pixie and Mr. Watzisname and laughing over Dame Washalot and imagining what fun life would be if we could be Joe or Bessie or Fanny, munching away at our Pop-Biscuits all the while. I'll remember that episode forever as one of the sweetest of my life, what with my dream of eating pop-biscuits coming true and sharing that experience with one of my dearest friends.

Me(left) and Megha

P.S. This post would be incomplete without a hundred thanks to Daniel, who made our trip down memory-lane possible. :)