Memories and smells go hand in hand: O yes, they do

O yes, they never do

I slipped inside my car and submitted myself to the fragrance of Ambi Pur India’s sample which I had received recently. A seductive aroma assaulted me, completely overwhelming my senses and leaving me in a state of stupor. I couldn’t say for sure whether the fragrance reminded me of a farm-fresh fruit or of the lavender or of the smell of the first rain or of the beaches of Thailand. I was too much dazed to take note of such mundane matters. It was a moment in which I simply had to let go; a moment which deserved to be cherished and relished.

As I reclined on the seat further and steered towards a bucolic bylane to drive at a leisure pace, an army of reminiscences crossed the border of time to launch missiles of nostalgia at me.

I was drifting into another world…a world of happy-sad moments….a world of happy-sad memories….a world of happy-sad fragrances………I was drifting….away away away I went....

“Ritesh aao baitho yahan. Tel lagaane do.”

My hair still smells of warm coconut oil, even though I have quit applying it a long time back. But I doubt if my hairs will ever let go of its fragrance completely. Nourishing my scalp with the generous dose of coconut oil was a daily ritual for my mother, one which she performed dutifully and unfailingly during my entire years of childhood and adolescence. It may appear a trivial thing for a casual reader, but the care and concern which were reflected during those small prosaic routines are apt testimonies of an ideal mother-child relationship. Some youths of today may be fawning after the western ideologies. But personally, I take intense pride on being born to an Indian mother.

Me and my mom on my 1st birthday

It is a cliché but one cannot meander on to the topic of smells and leave out the aroma of the rain-drenched soil. When the heaven cries, the earth rises up in perfumes to console its adversary.

Even when the sweeper of my building would splash water on the dry stairs for his periodic washing, that utterly delicious smell would make me go crazy. I call it ‘delicious’ coz during those moments I would feel a strong urge to eat mud or cement or soil or earth (call it whatever). I would often scrape off the wallpaper at my home and slurp those tasty cements. I still feel the urge, though I have given up on this habit.

PS- I once learnt that such a habit is a sign of calcium deficiency. However, I am not sure how this thing works.

PPS- By the way, those cemented stuffs are indeed delicious. Who cares for what medical science says about Calcium deficiency and blah blah. I would even bite into the earthern cups (‘bhaand’ or ‘kulhaar’) in which the chai-wallahs or ganna-wallahs (sugarcane vendors) used to serve tea and sugarcane juice.

Courtesy: Google images

Memories and smell go hand in hand:

Your memory is greatly influenced by what you are smelling at. It is something which even the scientific community doesn’t deny. Contrary to what you think, our memories are not independent. In fact, they are vulnerable and are often affected by various factors including that of smell.

Which smell can evoke your favorite memory is actually a matter of serendipitous discovery? You can try smelling the rain or the rose, you can try walking past the breezy lake or sniff at the ‘aamras’ (mango juice), you can glance at the old lozenge shop or peep into the kitchen.

Who knows where your favorite memory lies…. quietly, clandestinely, waiting to be discovered, waiting to be smelt…………..

My Darjeeling sojourn: A personal favorite memory

A magical trick you MUST try:

To the less informed, I would say ‘Never underestimate the power of smell’. I once read in some educational column that a potato, an onion and an apple taste the same. All three are sugar-based products and they taste exactly the same. It is just their varying smells which make a fool out of us, making us resent one and love the other.

The simple trick to verify this fact is- clutch your nose shut before putting a slice of a potato, onion and apple into your mouth. Now, try to distinguish between them. You would be surprised that all 3 would seem identical to your taste buds ;)

Yup, I even tried that once myself and was pretty amazed.

What JK Rowling never revealed:

Albus Dumbledore always gave a boost to Harry’s sagging confidence by suggesting intriguingly that you have a power which Voldemort will never understand.

Harry fooled himself throughout his life by believing that this was the ‘power of love’.

But no, Dumbledore lied to him.

Nah, actually, it was the power of smell.        ;)

[This post has been written for AmbiPur India, the leading supplier of car perfumes of a huge assortment of aromas. If your car doesn't smell the way you want it to smell and fails to elicit happy memories from the past, then you are recommended to install a car perfume which can make the air inside the car extremely aromatic. 

You do not have to overspend in order to inject that magical ambience in your four-wheeler. You can buy a 7-ml pack for a price as low as Rs 145. Prices vary depending on the flavor. The most popular one is the 'Ambi Pur Car Aqua Air Freshener Starter'. It can be bought from sites like Flipkart at Rs 229 here.  

Also, make sure to follow these guys on their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/AmbiPurIndia ]