Sat - Poor you with your eccentric nose! Good for you that you are trying to grow so many plants in your apt veranda. Chillies and tomatoes grow very well and very fast - and it is very satisfying to cook with veggoes grown in one's own garden. Mysore palk smells amazing - actually any time I fry a little bit of chick pea flour in ghee, it remindes me of that sweet. That specific sweet was done generally in our family for girl seeing cermony, engagement etc. and so it always bring to my mind happy occasions... Swetha - My parents are just like yours. My dad grew vegetables, fruits and beautiful flowers everywhere he stayed. He has a wonderful green thumb. Pity I did not take after him. I do enjoy going hom to savour all the garden bounty - roses for my hair, cauliflower, carrot, potatoes and spinach to eat, home grown home made lemon pickle that I could eat straight out of the bottle....yum. Here I only have a bamboo shoot that I am desperately trying to grow. Sigh.
Chotu - I too buy flowers at the grocery store. Some special florists sometimes will save up flower petals for $5/big bag if you let them know 1 week in advance. I find that very useful for pooja days.
Nehaja - I know what you mean about the wet earth. I find it the soil smells better in India than anywhere else. It smells of promise and potential for growth. I don't know if that makes any sense but thats how it feels to me. Hing, lemon and Eud cologne - all of them are sooooo very Indian! I love it that you say you like them.
Archana - Beautiful and nostalgic post...The smells of rain, jasmine, mehendi, other wonderful smells of India...if we could capture those scents in a bottle, I think many of us who are home sick here would love it. I would take a whiff of it anytime I felt lonely and tired and I would feel better instantly. I love the description of your dad feeding you...my grandmom would feed us curd rice with a thick and spicy vatha kohambu (kinda like sambhar but without the dhal)...that smell makes me feel young and hungry again! Loved your post.
DNM, Wonderful thread, very innovative :thumbsup. I love the smell of just mowed lawn, the smell of cut grass and earth and the sweet smell of a baby(natural smell as well as all the Johnson and Johnson baby products) - heaven!!!! Satchitananda, Your post is hilarious :rotfl. Maybe you're normal and others have hyper sensitivity? My sense of smell is kind of hyper, I can strongly smell what others cannot even sense :bonk and it sometimes drives me crazy(added to the bothering smell, the fact that no one can even feel it). Swethasri You have reminded me of my favorite flower - Nithya Malli, which has such a divine subtle smell(I feel, Gundu malli is a little strong and Jathi malli is the strongest - just my opinion).
Jaya - You are right about the roses here. They have a sorta plasticky feel to them. They look very beautiful though. Indian roses are not so flashy but they have the most amazing smells and most earthy quality, elemental to them. I also think that comparison applies to western and Indian women! I know, I am generalizing still...
Navs - Thanks! Cut grass and baby smells - oh, yeah. Totally unique and wonderful! I too have a hypers sensitive nose (maybe its because it is sooooo big? ) and I get headaches/sinus when the smells are strong...However I feel natural fragrances bother me much less than artifical perfumes.
Chotu - I shop at the Safeway franchise (Ralphs, Dominicks etc.). You can call all the florists near your area and ask them if they will give you petals. Specify that you don't necessarily need rose petals and uniform color etc since those are routinely used for american weddings and are expensive). Thats how I found a florist near me. Hope this helps.
wow, the smell of wet earth. dnm, watan ki mitti ki khushbboo, eh? yes, and the smell of green mehendi too.
