Of smells and senses...
Many a times a whiff of something would make me nostalgic.
I have a good sense of smell. I always associate places and people with a distinctive odour or some unique smell.
Like the first time we went to Kerala after we settled in Chennai. There was something in the air, it smelt fresh and nice, and as soon as I took a deep breath I screamed, "Am home". I continued to feel this way, every time I returned home. Then I realised that I even associated other places with their distinctive smell; be it early morning Chennai, late evening at Bangalore during summer, or fresh, green Kerala.One morning when I was on my way to work, I got this sudden familiar aroma. I didn't recognize the source, but I remembered where I'd experienced it last. Almost immediately I was a five-year-old sitting on father’s lap listening to the stories from "Amar Chitra Katha". Undoubtedly the best years of my life, the memory made me happy. I smiled instantly. Then I was lost in thoughts of my home, my mom, and the happy days at home.
On another instance when we received the long-awaited first rains in Chennai the whiff of fresh rains and mud made me nostalgic. I was than a 10-year old once again, running on the wet mud-road, jumping on all the puddles on the way. Rains also brought me memoirs of paper boats, the jasmine flowers outside my window, the hot tasty tea mom made…
Likewise, I associate sounds and music with certain people and places. The sound of ringing temple bells take me home, where every evening I could hear them in the temple near my house. Then my thoughts wander to temple, the pond, and the lotuses. Likewise, I wake up in Chennai missing the early morning sounds like chirping of birds that were familiarly heard at home. I associate "Kishore Kumar" hits with a classmate-turned- friend A, who sang the song regularly and that was good enough. There were stories in the backdrop that most of them were dedicated to me!
Similarly, I associate hits of “Pankaj Udhas” and “Guns and Roses” with two different friends. Hearing them, I even think of the college tour way back in December, 1999. All of us were away from home on a class tour to Bangalore, singing songs, when the whole world celebrated the wake of the new century. Some songs even bring back thoughts of a teenage crush that I nursed secretly.
I associate fish curry with granny. The fish she made tasted perfect. I imagined she'd always be around to make them for me. So I never learnt the art from her, and when she died, the taste died as well!
I have a good sense of smell. I always associate places and people with a distinctive odour or some unique smell.
Like the first time we went to Kerala after we settled in Chennai. There was something in the air, it smelt fresh and nice, and as soon as I took a deep breath I screamed, "Am home". I continued to feel this way, every time I returned home. Then I realised that I even associated other places with their distinctive smell; be it early morning Chennai, late evening at Bangalore during summer, or fresh, green Kerala.One morning when I was on my way to work, I got this sudden familiar aroma. I didn't recognize the source, but I remembered where I'd experienced it last. Almost immediately I was a five-year-old sitting on father’s lap listening to the stories from "Amar Chitra Katha". Undoubtedly the best years of my life, the memory made me happy. I smiled instantly. Then I was lost in thoughts of my home, my mom, and the happy days at home.
On another instance when we received the long-awaited first rains in Chennai the whiff of fresh rains and mud made me nostalgic. I was than a 10-year old once again, running on the wet mud-road, jumping on all the puddles on the way. Rains also brought me memoirs of paper boats, the jasmine flowers outside my window, the hot tasty tea mom made…
Likewise, I associate sounds and music with certain people and places. The sound of ringing temple bells take me home, where every evening I could hear them in the temple near my house. Then my thoughts wander to temple, the pond, and the lotuses. Likewise, I wake up in Chennai missing the early morning sounds like chirping of birds that were familiarly heard at home. I associate "Kishore Kumar" hits with a classmate-turned- friend A, who sang the song regularly and that was good enough. There were stories in the backdrop that most of them were dedicated to me!
Similarly, I associate hits of “Pankaj Udhas” and “Guns and Roses” with two different friends. Hearing them, I even think of the college tour way back in December, 1999. All of us were away from home on a class tour to Bangalore, singing songs, when the whole world celebrated the wake of the new century. Some songs even bring back thoughts of a teenage crush that I nursed secretly.
I associate fish curry with granny. The fish she made tasted perfect. I imagined she'd always be around to make them for me. So I never learnt the art from her, and when she died, the taste died as well!
posted by Soumya | 2:20 AM
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