Unlock Your Memory

They bring back the sometimes forgotten, most deliberately erased and very rarely lost memories to the present. Some sear through the heart leaving behind pain and scars while others waft through with a gentle sway of pleasantly soaked remembrances.

The sniff of the dried chili (Mormilagai), the fragrance of the talcum powder, the sweet scent of the night queen to the fresh smell of the new pillow cover  triggers me to relive and transports me to that moment which I had most enjoyed. 

Although there are scientific explanations and reasonings that strongly prove the memory- smell connect, it is a marvel how a fragrance can make you nostalgic and carry you to an array of thoughts and the exact routine of happenings of a particular event.

There are a variety of familiar fragrances that makes me ponder about the different emotions and memories. Here’s one in particular that I am scenti-mental about and apparently it is the one that brings a smile to my face. 

The small floral design of the pack, the soft powdery white magic and the sweet scent of the dusty perfumed talc drifts me into the beautiful memories of the golden days during my visit to Grandma’s home. As a kid, I have yearned for the moment all through the year and always looked forward to the annual visit.

I am not sure what was more exciting, whether it was the actual stay at Grandma's or the preparations made for the visit.

It all starts with my father booking tickets for all of us on the last day of the annual exam.  The day of the visit was even more entertaining. The morning of the visit, was a hurried one, very different from all the other days of my exam schedule, as mom will not pay much attention to the morning revision like it is always done on the day of the exam, because she was very sure that the last exam was going to be a flop, all credits to out of focus ME! This was followed by a quick breakfast and me leaving to school in my usual Rickshaw.

The travel from home to school and the wait for the exam to be complete gave me tremendous joy of the entire holiday plan as I can recall now!  It was the most expected moment from the time the exam season would have begun.

As soon as I boarded my Rickshaw,  the Rickshaw man, Rickshakaar (as I addressed him fondly)  used to start the chat with what exam I had the particular day.  After answering his questions I would go on to explain about my vacation, the most important part being how and when I would board the bus after my exams were over. I used to conclude the chat (which I would have reminded  myself atleast a dozen times earlier during the previous evening and night ) by instructing him not to wait for me that particular afternoon as my dad would have picked me earlier. 

That afternoon my father used to pick me up from school immediately after the exams, the bus being scheduled to depart at 2 pm. The quick travel from  school to home, rushing to eat lunch after changing uniform, and the travel to bus station made it all the more exhilarating.

The excitement ceased a little once we boarded the bus. It came back again when the bus entered the city limits and made its way through the part where the talc’s manufacturing unit was set up, the sweet, pleasant smell wafting through the evening breeze making me immensely happy as it meant that the actual holidays were on. 

More than the stay at Grandma’s, the ritual of finishing the last annual exam and getting ready to travel in the bus intrigued me. Looking back, I realize the two-hour journey in the State Transport Corporation encompassed all the joy a child could ever have in her lifetime. 

While I enjoy the olfactory indulgences, I also wonder if the aromas really take us back to the scene of what has exactly occurred or it’s just a reminder of the happier times that our brain had developed to reminisce. Perhaps, the fragrant memories simply convey an intensely vivid sense of past as if it was being re-experienced that we long for.