Not too long ago, a close friend of mine blogged about sounds; sounds that follow us around from childhood into adulthood, and memories that we associate with certain sounds. Along the same theme and using another of our wonderful God-given five senses, I thought I could do the same with smells. Good smells. Aromas. Horrible smells that make us want to pinch our noses shut in distaste. We can all identify certain smells that we link with happy moments. Or with moments that we rather not remember. There are smells all around us; there is no escape. Even now if we take a moment and just sniff, we could probably smell something. Whether that's a good smell or a not so good one is for our noses only!
One of the first smells that wafted past my nose as a young child was the smell of warmed milk. I loved drinking milk as a child; not so much now. When I smell warm milk now my mind goes back to my childhood. Smells of rice being cooked, not using a modern-day rice cooker but on a wood fire stove. You could even taste the smoke when you ate the rice. The roasted smell of chapatis frying. Onions and garlic caramelising; it was a foretaste of a very yummy curry. Every coffee drinker can attest to this; the smell of freshly brewed coffee percolating. Drinking the actual brew is almost anti-climatic. Vanilla essence always reminded me of cookies and cakes.
How about the smell of freshly- laundered clothing ? Clean sheets and towels. Mothers can identify their own baby by their smell. The smell of freshly washed hair. Natural smells that even perfumes cannot compare with, no matter how expensive. One of my favourite smells is the smell of wet earth just after it rains. I would not even know how to begin to describe it; it needs to be experienced. Then there are people smells. Each of us has our own smell. Ask anyone in love; there are moments when we get a sniff of something and we stop and remember someone close to us. Life rushes by but perhaps we should take time to stop and smell the roses- and more.
One of the first smells that wafted past my nose as a young child was the smell of warmed milk. I loved drinking milk as a child; not so much now. When I smell warm milk now my mind goes back to my childhood. Smells of rice being cooked, not using a modern-day rice cooker but on a wood fire stove. You could even taste the smoke when you ate the rice. The roasted smell of chapatis frying. Onions and garlic caramelising; it was a foretaste of a very yummy curry. Every coffee drinker can attest to this; the smell of freshly brewed coffee percolating. Drinking the actual brew is almost anti-climatic. Vanilla essence always reminded me of cookies and cakes.
How about the smell of freshly- laundered clothing ? Clean sheets and towels. Mothers can identify their own baby by their smell. The smell of freshly washed hair. Natural smells that even perfumes cannot compare with, no matter how expensive. One of my favourite smells is the smell of wet earth just after it rains. I would not even know how to begin to describe it; it needs to be experienced. Then there are people smells. Each of us has our own smell. Ask anyone in love; there are moments when we get a sniff of something and we stop and remember someone close to us. Life rushes by but perhaps we should take time to stop and smell the roses- and more.
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