Tuesday 3 September 2013

Smelly to smiley

There is something with smells and memories. One comes and the other trails behind till one closes the eyes to relive those sweet sour memories. Memories that travel faster than light, the spectacular time machine we love to surrender to the moment that familiar smell hits our Olfactory! 

Naughtiest smells
The naughtiest of them all is the fragrance of soil after the first rain. Till date it reminds me of the pleasure kids get by eating soil and I can’t help but close my eyes in delight as my surprised Mr. Hubby looks on.

Intoxicating smells…oops fragrances
The fragrance of delicacies being prepared by mom in the kitchen! The aroma of that special Basmati could be relished metres away from the house – a sign for us to come home. It would also be an invitation for the unwanted neighbourhood aunty who would be burning with jealousy but couldn’t resist asking mom where she got the rice from. 

As I write this, several fragrances & smells from the kitchen fill up my memory – the smell of boiled spinach, a sign that the next meal would be torturous. The fragrance of kheer & halwa that would make me go wild and shower mom with buttering for my extra bowl! The smell of burnt boiled milk – a sign of my carelessness as mom would often ask me to monitor boiling milk, and burnt milk meant scolding and lecture. The fragrance of delicacies that mom would prepare on festivals – I would go at the pretext of helping mom in the kitchen and enjoy the concoction of various food smells that would invite me for a preview of the preparations! Sometimes, an overcrowded dustbin would play the spoilsport between me and my aromas. Didn’t have the bad odour eliminating Ambi Pur back then. Else my smelly hours in the kitchen with ma would have become so super smiley. 

Irritating smell
Kitchen was bang opposite my room but Bathroom too made its presence felt…specially if some guest with not so good civic sense and a bad stomach dropped in. Locking the bathroom door or sometimes spraying my expensive deo was the only option. Wish we had AmbiPur back then.

Fragrance of love
Reminds me of the first gift from Mr. Hubby…Mediterranean by Elizabeth Arden…I had jokingly applied a generous spray and the whole room smelled awesome…

Fragrance Divine
Has to be of fresh flowers…I have always been crazy about flowers. Mom pampered me with a surprise shower of bouquets in the house on my Birthday mornings. Mom in law too gave me a floral welcome as my room was done up in beautiful white motiya, mogra and rose flowers. There may be best of fragrances in the world, but the fragrance of motiya, mogra and rose reminds me of our first night…

Sinful Smell
The smell of melted chocolate slithered around my fingers. On our first Valentine’s Day, Mr. Hubby got a nice dark chocolate. But the enthusiasm to chit chat and smile and shy ignored the poor chocolate. So by the time I opened the pack, the chocolate was all melted and creamy, but it was one sinful experience.

Fighter Smells
The smell of burnt food…the cause of my fight with Mr. Hubby that day…a dish royally ignored to burn. Blame game of “you could have monitored” and “You are careless” till mom in law managed to cease fire. Mr. Hubby adores cleanliness and fragrances. Perhaps Ambi Pur at that time could have turned our kitchen smelly to smiley…

Shameless smell
The smell from our maid servant who wouldn’t bath! On festivals, mom had to request her to take a shower else not enter the kitchen and she would shamelessly go for the latter option!

Smell of friendship…
The smell from old yellow pages of books….the best friends…one whiff and I relive the numerous nights spent and the countless cups of coffee gulped…all for the bond of a lifetime!

Smell so innocent
The smell of babies! Freshly bathed and powdered, or otherwise, babies have a characteristic sweet smell which is so pure, just like their hearts! Reminds me of the sweet smell from my nephew as didi gave him a shower and got him ready for his evening ride to the park with me, the mausi!

Fragrance of devotion
The fragrance of incense from the Puja room. The fragrance after the morning puja that would communicate the blessing from the almighty; the fragrance after the evening arti which reassured that all is well!

No matter how much smelly the past
Nothing forever lasts
A spray of optimism, love and style
Will  even change the smell to smile!

This post is written for the Smelly to smiley contest by Ambipur (visit their Facebook page here) & Indiblogger. AmbiPur offers a range of air fresheners by our old and trusted P&G. With its bad odour eliminating quality, AmbiPur is surely gonna turn those smells to smiles!

3 comments:

Its great to share. Would love to have your valuable comments on my blog...:)