The Cozy Minimalist, who would prefer that I do not use upper case letters at all in her name, has a post up on her blog talking about various smells that bring back memories for her.
I commented there as. “The olfactory perception can trigger memories like nothing else does. The recent trip that I made down South did precisely that for me and on a few occasions my relatives thought that I was bananas going on and on about some memories like sun dried clothes, special dishes cooking in the kitchen, smell from the neighbourhood bakery / restaurant and most of all, infants smelling of baby talcum powder.”
I feel like kicking myself for omitting the most vibrant smell of them all. The smell of rain water on dry earth.
We had our last rain in September at the end of the monsoon and since then it has been dry. Our garden has been watered everyday from the water mains but today, as I write this, we are having the first of our few winter showers. I woke up from my siesta to the smell and sound of falling rain. What an experience! Priceless.
I wish I could share the sound and the smell with my readers.
Ah, for the simple pleasures of life.
Rim Jhim ( Ranjan ! ) barse paani ??!! With me it also works in reverse – when I see smoke or dust in a film I can almost smell it !
That is a reaction from a true blue Hyderabadi.
I’ll go you one better Ramana – I love the sound of a thunderstorm as it rolls through. When I was a kid in Colorado I used to lie on the grass in the front yard and just look up into the sky during sucj a downpour. Your post also got me thinking and the smell of freshly mowed lawn remibnds me of my first SF Giants baseball game at Seals Stadium – my grandfather took my dad and I shortly after we’d moved to California. As we entered the stadium proper and headed to our most excellent 2nd row seats the smell of freshly mowed grass (lawn – not the illegal stuff) was wonderful.
Yes, the noise too can evoke memories. I have not had much experience of freshly mowed lawns but can well imagine!
My sense of smell is very poor, so most smells just pass me by. But I love the smell of new-mown grass, and coffee, and lemon juice. I don’t find that smells bring back memories though. Music and visual images are more likely to do that.
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Those too do.
A rain shower after a long dry spell is magical. Alas, days on end of dull dark days with incessant rain, is a horse of a different colour. Swapsies?
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No thank you.
OH yes my friend!
you know though how much i love the rain.
just those pictures on your post make me feel good.
and like shackman… oh the lovely sound and smell of a thunderstorm!
perfection.
and here we are… as dry as a bone. again.
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Oh yes to what? Kick me?
This might sound weird, but I like the smell of rain on concrete. 🙂
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I don’t find it weird at all. In cities when the first monsoon rains come, that is a smell that brings people out in droves to dance in the rain over here.
You have given us all the fond memory of a spring rain and the smell that follows, Rummy.
blessings ~ maxi
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Thank you Maxi. It was a spontaneous post.
குறிஞ்சி – தலைவன் கூற்று
யாயும் ஞாயும் யாரா கியரோ,
எந்தையும் நுந்தையும் எம்முறைக் கேளிர்,
யானும் நீயும் எவ்வழி யறிதும்,
செம்புலப் பெயனீர் போல,
அன்புடை நெஞ்சம் தாங்கலந் தனவே.
-செம்புலப் பெயனீரார்.
What is my mother
to yours? How is my father related
to yours? Although
you and I knew not each other in any way,
just as red earth and pouring rain:
the love-filled hearts merged.
(Kuruntokai – 40)
http://tinyurl.com/nhopxkv
Thank you Vignesh.