Delhiwale: The magic show of a candyfloss wallah

Rajpal Singh sells ‘budiya ke baal’ in Green Park. He charges Rs 20 for a stick of hairy and sticky candy that melts instantly in the mouth.

‘Budiya ke baal’, or old woman’s hair, is spun out of sugar. We are told that sightings of candyfloss or cotton candy vendors have become rare these days. Recently, we spotted one at Connaught Place.

Rajpal Singh is usually seen in south Delhi’s Green Park. (Mayank Austen Soofi / HT Photo)

But today, we will tell you about Rajpal Singh, who is usually seen in south Delhi’s Green Park. All day long, the elderly Mr Singh cycles around the area with a cotton candy machine that he purchased in his hometown Aligarh for Rs 4,000.

Wrapped in a red cloth to grab the attention of passersby, the machine consists of a blackened aluminium tray with a small metal bowl in the centre. The bowl has minute pores on its side walls and there is a burner underneath. The whole contraption is attached to a wheel.

First, Mr Singh fills the bowl with grains of sugar and some food-grade colour. He then turns the burner to low flame. In a few moments, he begins to rotate the wheel and the tray begins to spin. Within seconds, the tray is cobwebbed with a thin film of barely perceptible threads. The melted sugar cools down and solidifies into what looks like cotton.

Finally, Mr Singh pulls out a wooden stick and twirls the cotton around it. The strands bunch around the twig and, lo and behold, you have a sugar cloud of your own.

The candy feels hairy and sticky in the mouth and melts instantly. Mr Singh charges Rs 20 for his magic show.