02 June 2009

Sniffing Through Memories

a conversation with an online friend of mine got us talking about fragrances and our deep relation with them. I get a high every time I smell the first rains on the mud. Many can relate to what I mean by that. However, I am sure there are many of you who are reading this and going, "Yuck!". However, I am not here to argue about which is a superior smell and give out awards for it. I am just reminiscing the memories that each fragrance evokes for me.

Like the smell of petrol and car smoke after spending a good time vacationing in some remote village or hill station with 'clean fresh air'. Somehow, the lungs and the nostrils begin to long for them! And the smell of vanilla essence which reminds me of home, my mother and the caramel custard she makes. The smell of binding paper and new note books bring me warm memories of long gone days of school and the joy that accompanied it. The smell of corn cobs on the coal on a windy and rainy afternoon as I returned from college or the fragrance of 'masala chai' and 'kanda bhajiya' sitting there at the window sill of NELCO where I worked as a trainee. The fragrance of freshly cut grass at Infosys Mysore and exploding aromas of various cuisines at its food courts!

I think our lungs have a little memory of their own carrying a sample of each of our memorable fragrances in them and evoking those good ol' feelings long after the moment has gone past us. That explains why the scent of the woman/man we love is something we treasure most when our partners are no more. I think at times I have given too much importance to the senses of sight and sound, taste and touch. Come to think of it smell is the only sense that directly connects with our life-fuel (air) and our breath and is the reason why... mmmmm... Is that Dinner I smell?

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