Most families uncork a bottle of bubbly to mark glad tidings. Mine raised a not so sparkling “toast” over vanilla ice cream drizzled with chocolate sauce. The cool combo was just a fun reprisal of what my parents had done in the 1950s. The instant the pater popped the question, she murmured a Yes. And they ran into Bombelli’s at Breach Candy, to seal the deal with happy helpings of this “mooh meetha” of their choice. Which is why vanilla and chocolate it was, to celebrate any cause for congratulations in our clan.

My jubilant folks hardly stood out hanging there. The soaring passion and proposals Freddy and Betty Bombelli indulgently witnessed, at both their Breach Candy and Churchgate branches, delighted the Swiss restaurateurs. Propelling plenty of prem kahaanis, Bombelli’s cast a spell over everyone walking in. When its Polish pianist paved the way for a three-piece band, the dance floor livened up with jazzy jiving at packed “jam sessions”. Georgie the singer-pianist, Darryl the guitarist and Philip the drummer made a melodic trio for bopping collegians who pestered them for request songs.