Has it ever happened to you that a particular aroma transported you right back into your childhood, back to being a little girl? I believe nostalgia has its own unique fragrance redolent of beautiful times! And there is something beautifully Indian about our childhood memories and the aromas we associate with them. I have some very distinct and pleasant memories of flowers from my grandparents’ lawn. They had a stretch of lovely roses, some of them exotic for those days including a variety of black rose. I also remember the huge patch of jasmine flowers that we kids loved. The aroma was heady to say the least. I remember sitting many evenings in the patch plucking the pretty white buds that were later woven into small gajras for our mothers. The rest of the buds were left to float in a large bowl of water perfuming the air around it. I have always loved jasmine flowers and their scent since then. These days, we are growing them in our own small garden.
Lovely jasmine flowers
Then there were the pretty parijat flowers – these small white flowers with an orange band in the center are delightfully fragrant. Pick a few in your hands and inhale deeply. They will transport you to a happy space immediately. Another fragrance I remember fondly is that of raat ki rani or Night queen. This one flowers only at night. And its aroma is something to be experienced! If you have this plant growing somewhere in the vicinity, you can sense its smell from a few houses away. Its sweet smell has always mesmerized me. I remember my mother asking me not to go near the plant in the dark of the night as snakes are believed to dwell somewhere near. But I remember lingering, not wanting to go away just yet despite my real fear of snakes. Raat ki rani transports me back to the small sleepy town of Sitapur where we had this flowering in the lawn of our house. I must have been 5 or 6 years old back then but I remember distinctly. And then there is the fragrance of incense sticks that we burn during poojas. I remember my mother would burn a bunch of them together perfuming the house, leaving a smell lingering for hours that I associate to this day with piety. Yes, they came in several fragrances and sandalwood was my favorite. No wonder I am such a stickler for deodorants, perfumes, scented candles, air sprays and car perfumes. I love to be surrounded by nature’s aromas! Fragrance is a part of me.
Parijat flowers
There are several others smells of nostalgia for me. When I walked into the home from school, I would inhale deeply and know exactly what mom had cooked. And that held an element of pleasant surprise for me. I especially remember halwa with the inviting smell of rava frying in desi ghee. It was sheer delight! Another smell that has stayed with me is that of new books or text books. Unlike today’s children, I used to await getting new books at the start of the school year. While covering them, I would pick them up and inhale deeply and savor the fresh smell. Bliss! Even today, I have the habit of sniffing any new book I buy. Old habits die hard :).
Raat ki rani with a heavenly perfume!
I can go on and on about the amazing smell of ripe mango, piquant smell of star fruit, heady aroma of bel fruit, the invigorating perfume of first rain on sun-baked earth, the piquant smell of marigold flowers that were strung in rows during Diwali or poojas in our house, the strong smell of phenyl used for cleaning, the inviting smell of petrol, the luscious aroma of fresh herbs, the deep smell of henna on the hands, of eucalyptus oil put in water to steam when we had nasal congestion…
The amazing marigold!
These scents have made a lasting impression on my whole being. A whiff and warm memories are rekindled. And, don’t you agree that they are so inherently Indian and amazingly satisfying to the soul?
What are the unique smells of childhood that you crave for?
All images are courtesy Wikimedia Commons. I own no copyright for them.
Aha.. I love garden smells too. The smell of mogra, grass, gooseberries, mango. mmmm. And yes I too would start sniffing as soon as I entered home. And guess what, sonny does the same. 🙂
hehe Even my kids do that. They sniff and start guessing what I have cooked? :). Indeed, we tend to go over the same cycle over and over again!
Amazing post … the pics and writing made me nostalgic 🙂
Thanks Sangeetha! Glad to have rekindled some warm memories for you!
A truly fragrant post. I can identify with all the ones you mentioned here…moms cooking, jasmine flowers, bel fruit and the incense sticks.
Thanks Alka! Ah mom’s cooking. Every day was a delight for the olfactory senses :).
the “mitti ki khusbu” in rains – oh lovely. and subsequently combined with pakoras and adrak chai smell… true bliss
Yep, those smells too! Yummy. Thanks for reading Alpana!
really lovely 😀 made me nostalgic
Thanks Ash :).
I loved it…
Your words made me nostalgic too!!!
All the best 🙂
Thank you Locomente!
Parijat flowers look delightful. I am also planning to plant few flowers in my terrace. Will try and find them here.
We got a plant from Lalbagh here. It is easy to plant.
Alas! The only smell that I do resonate to the most is food 🙂 Even though we had that parijat, jasmine and night queen flowering in our garden in Neyveli. 🙂
Yes, food is delightful when it smells heavenly :). But I can never get enough of flowers!
Wow.. Made me nostalgic and go back memory lane into my childhood days.. Even I love the smell of new books..I love the smell of Mother Earth when rains first touch its soil.. I love the smell of rava when fried in ghee when mom used to make halwa.. Beautiful post and so very well written.. Lovely..!!
Thanks colorsaroundmysoul. Happy to connect with a kindred soul.
The writing, the pictures, the you-behind-the-post reminiscing, all very beautiful. I can almost smell the flowers. Feeling refreshed! 🙂
Thank you Sakshi for your warm words! I felt warm and fuzzy while penning this one.
There are so many smells I associate from my childhood, but the most strongest is the smell of madhumalati growing in our government colonies….
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They do grow copiously. I guess they are preferred for being so low maintenance. Thanks for reading!
You took me back in time with all those smells, especially the smell of the new books…such lovely times and so small our wishes. These memories are indeed beautiful and truly Indian. 🙂
How amazing was that! New books — I can’t get enough of that smell. Big pleasures in such small things indeed. I am glad you connected with the fragrances in the post.
Isn’t it amazing how we capture these scents and store them in our memories – and later associate them with certain places and even people? You’ve created a lovely fragrance with your words today, Rachna. 🙂
What you said is so true! Thank you Corinne!
Lovely post ! Smells evoke so many memories in us. Though we cant distinctly recollect smells, we remember it the moment we smell it. I think smells have still a lot of potential for product companies to explore 🙂 Imagine an ad for a pizza which smells of pizza !
Absolutely there is great untapped potential here.
Aah! To be honest, I do not have any memories of gardening or smells related to flowers from my childhood but I can quite imagine you as a little girl spending your time among the flowers 🙂 Somehow I am getting more drawn towards gardening now! 🙂
I did no gardening, Deepa :). I like to enjoy the fruits of others’ labors! Even now it is G who is a keen gardener. But I do love flowers, have always loved them!
You know, I don’t quite have very many strong aromatic associations from my childhood perhaps because I have always lived in a concrete jungle. But I do have one – Odomos! My Dadi use to smear that all over her arms and legs before going to bed! Even today that smell is in my head clear as day!
Nana’s house was beautiful. The lawns were lush green and huge. There were many vegetables and fruit trees too, of course flowers as well. They had two full-time malis. Otherwise, we were lucky if our government houses had a patch of aangan or garden. And I feel women are more clued in to smells than men. Your dadi incident makes me remember the strong smell of kachua chaap :).
Those flowery fragrances, Rachna! I used to sit in the garden whenever I visited my aunt (mother’s side) in holidays. And..the smell of food, ah! matchless 🙂
Yes Diwakar! The smell of food — we all loved it, didn’t we?
The smell of lemon and karipatta I associate with my childhood as we had these trees in our backyard. Also, the smell of damp earth transports me to the summer days in Nagpur when I used to water the garden…
Ah fragrant memories! I have karipatta plant now in my home. It smells heavenly.
ALL of these hold big memories for me, Rachna. Photos are fab..and so is your post. Hugs!
Nostalgia is potent. Thanks Vidya for connecting with the post. Hugs back!
A fragrant post with all the aromas stirring the childhood memories! Best of luck for the contest, Rachna:)
Thank you Rahul!
The smell of pink Lux soap reminds me of my Granny’s place. The parijaat flowers remind me of our neighbours and of course, it was fun guessing what mom had cooked, on the stairs before entering home, after school. 🙂
Yep lux, lifebuoy, hamam — I remember them all :).
Beautiful post and such beautiful memories! The Parijat flowers are a rarity here. Loved its pic!
Thanks Swapna!
Ah, Rachna………………..what a fab, fab, fab post! Loved every bit of it. Yes, the flowers and gardens are such an unmistakable part of our childhood. Food aromas are another. Halwa remains a favorite with me too. And oh, new books. Yup, I smell them too……glad to find another madhatter like me. Your post so took me back home! Thank you <3
Thanks so much, Vinita! Glad to find that we share so much in common. I am so happy to have rekindled those warm, fuzzy memories for you. <3
One fragrant post! 🙂
I love all the fragrances you have mentioned. Would also like to add these: freshly cut grass, the sweet smell in bakeries, that pure smell inside temples, and the way a baby smells! Of course, the baby smell is not a childhood memory but it’s one of the nicest and sweetest smells in the world.
And did you know the smell of the earth after the first rains is called Petrichor? Pronounced – /pe-tri-kur/
Yes baby smell! That came on much later ;-). And of course, the smell of bakery and fresh cut grass. Those are super cool. Thanks for telling me about petrichor. Will remember it from now on.
Pleasure! I came across that word recently. And I think it have put the wrong pronunciation. It’s /pe-tri-ker/
fragrance of your post has elated the ambiance of my room. Thank you.
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Thanks so much for visiting and connecting with the post, neoimaginationsn. That is such a lovely thing to say.
Girl, did you sneak into my mind by any chance? I love everything that you said, except for the ripe jack fruit..I am not a big fan of it 🙂 And I am a very smell sensitive person..I don’t know if you remember my post on smells some months back 🙂
good luck for the contest 🙂
Ripe jack fruit. I hate that smell :-). I talked about starfruit, bel and mango. Yep, I am smell sensitive too :). Thanks dear.
What an amazing trip down memory lane!
Thanks Roshni! Glad you had a good time taking that trip!
What a nice post Rachna–the first three flowers mentioned by you took me back to my parental home-that home was sheer bliss.
I pray that my kids too have equally fond memories of their growing up years.
Thank you so much, Indu! I am sure your kids will have some spectacular memories of their own, not necessarily similar to yours.
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I never liked croton plants. When I did my garden in my previous house, I went looking for flowering plants which were smelling good. I had many many varieties of jasmine in our house and Paarijaat too! I love this flower. Maybe I love these flowers because I grew up in my grandma’s place which had an exclusive flower garden which had many different flowers.
Enjoyed reading your experience and the pictures are lovely.
I remember your posts on jasmine. Aren’t they so fantastic. My husband loves various varieties of hibiscus too. I go for the sweet smelling ones. Thanks for reading.
Rachna, what a beautifully written post.
My associations come from Bangalore flower market, vegetable market and our garden with 3 kinds of jasmine and champak flower which kids used to pick for prayers at home. Mothers and aunts used to tie garlands from it.
Parijata is also one among my associations. During our childhood we used to visit our aunt’s place which was huge place with parijata tree in the backyard. We used to play a lot there. I love hibiscus and the grass (including freshly mowed grass), in our family it is one form of offering to Ganesha, the grass. we call it ‘garike’. The combination of flowers, agarbatti, and cotton garlands, vibhuuti (dont know what you call it in english) in the prayer room makes me nostalgic even though I am an atheist now, ahh!
There is one more flower which is called ‘jaaji’ in Kannada not sure what we call in English. I just loved that flower.
And ofcourse my all time favorite, rose. Red roses, ahh!
and fruits, mangoes, sweet lime, different kinds of bananas and the cuisines made out of fruits, south Indian ones. For me north Indian food was eaten in restaurants. So not much association there. Ohh. let me stop here..:-D
Lovely memories those, Bhavana! Thanks for sharing! Yes, we have many varieties of hibiscus in our house from the normal pink to the exotic ones. You see them in so many hybrid forms. But they don’t have the smell. I also love the smell of freshly brewed coffee. I just love it in the morning. This is one taste I acquired once I shifted here :).
Smells remind us of things more than anything else!! Raat ki raani still lives in my house.. Jasmine reminds me of my nani’s place.. just by looking at the picture you can inhale the smell and go back. Amazing it is!
Ah, we have planted raat ki rani but it hasn’t bloomed yet. Even the jasmine has not proliferated much. Amazing, aren’t these flowers and the memories they invoke in us? Thanks for reading!
Fragrance of Jasmine and HasnaHena(Rat ki Rani) never fail to cheer me up. Now that I’m away from my country, even the sight of samosas makes me nostalgic.
Enjoyed reading your fragrant musings, Rachna.
That’s true, Purba! Distance does make the heart grow fonder. Thanks for reading!
The smell of mountains covered with pines always transport me to my Nani’s house. No matter which hill station I am visiting, they all remind me of her. 🙂
Wow, that is a fabulous memory!
What a fabulous fabulous post ! I so enjoyed reading it ! You are so right when you say that nostalgia has its own unique fragrance. My favorite childhood fragrance is mogra and parijat – both growing in my grandmother’s garden and the smell of wet earth. My grandmother used to sprinkle water every summer evening ! Somehow I dont like the smell of mangoes 🙂
Thanks Ruch! My memories are perfumed with these aromas. Really about mangoes? I love the heady perfume of almost all varieties. I don’t like jackfruit though.
Hello……..
what is the hindi and english names of Parijat ?