Out of all the senses, the sense of smell is probably the one I am most sensitive to. Certain smells invoke a very strong emotional response from me. Below is a list of smells that influence me.

The Smells of

• Old Spice reminds me of my childhood.
• Cigarette smoke reminds me of my father.
• Beer reminds me of Sood Sahab.
• Whiskey reminds me of Sanjay Patel.
• Weed reminds me of Goru.
• Damp and mold reminds me of the basement of our house at Panchkula.
• Diesel Exhaust reminds me of Delhi/Gurgaon.
• Lemongrass reminds me of Hotel Bonsai at Connaught Place.
• Lemon reminds me of Lemon Tree Hotels.
• Nail Polish Remover reminds me of my mother.
• Naphtha reminds me of my paternal grandparents’ house.
• Urine reminds me of T-Point Hostel, NC Jindal Public school and my maternal grandparents’ house.
• Garbage reminds me of Uttar Pradesh.
• New electronics reminds me of my first computer.
• Cow-dung reminds me of Mathura and Vrindavan.
• Panchvati incense reminds of of the Maruti 800 car we had when we moved to Delhi.
• Nivea deodorant reminds me of São Paulo.
• Rose reminds me of one time I travelled on Rajdhani Express with my mother.
• Night Blooming Jasmine reminds me of the festive season in India.

Also, I remember a few distinct smells which I have no names for

• The distinctive smell of the video game parlour at Jwala Heri market. Might have been some incense that I have never come across anywhere else.
• The smell of freshly dried clothes out of the dryer provides me a lot of comfort.
• The earthly smell of cosmetics in and around a Forest Essentials store.
• The smell of rubber and leather that is omnipresent in old-school shoe stores like Bata.
• The distinct smell that was prevalent at Tosh Opticals, Paschim Vihar that I once again got a whiff of, at Central few days ago.
• The smell that comes from desert coolers fitted with new wood fiber.
• The typical smell of carpet, tablecloth and linen at old-school Indian restaurants & hotels.