Tuesday 3 September 2013

Forgotten fragrances

Being born in the Brahmin family makes you habitual of lots of fragrances. Moreover, if you
are born in the village then you will surely knit some of your childhood memories with fragrances. Blessed by the both, whenever I recall my childhood life of village I can start feeling the mixed fragrances. As my day usually starts late, I always have aroma of incense sticks around me. At my home you will always have some different incense stick aroma in morning and evening time. Those sweet sandal smell when amalgamates with aroma of tea kick starts my day and if it’s the month of monsoon then you will continuously receive fine fragrances of soil. One of my favorite fragrances is of one thelawala who sells potato chips and other snacks. As I was a kid I can’t name the person or fragrance but I enjoyed it. Whenever my uncle took me to market I visit that thela to buy some random stuff. 

It’s not only the places that have different fragrances many people too carry different fragrances. One of our family friends is fond of ‘khas itra’ and it was so heavy that it transfers from his cloths to other’s cloth if he hugged him. Similarly Rameshwar bhaiya (school sweeper) was characterized by his jasmine oil fragrances. Most of the people were fond of eating pan and hence they are always surrounded by mint and kimam fragrances. Sadly, time and childhood both are gone and everything changed.


Now when I visit my village I get different smell around me. Luckily I could still get the same sandal incense stick fragrances with a cup of tea in the morning but apart from this I can’t expect to have any other childhood fragrance. Empty lands are now having homes and cemented roads increases number of vehicles which yields the same smell as I have in my city. Pans are now been replaced by cigarettes which again annoyed me. Only few people are still using itra and hence it’s really difficult to get that fragrance too. The only improvement in the fragrance area is the fragrance of my car.  Thanks to ambi pure ( www.facebook.com/AmbiPurIndia) I don’t have to bear any odor while driving.  Though the fragrances are died but I can still cherish them in my memories.