Fragrances and memories

Music and fragrances are the two most potent triggers of memories for me. I would be happily driving down the road and then a song on the radio would remind me of a vacation, getting wet in the rain or just holding hands while driving with that someone special and then there would be an unexpected smile on my face, pain in my heart or tears rolling down my eyes. The other sense that takes me back down memory lane is that of smell. The smell of sandalwood oil that my mum uses on her body reminds me of my mum, the smell of Clinique Happy mixed with cigarette smoke reminds me Mr Big and that of Ylang Ylang reminds me of my time in Bali. Mr Oz and I used to bath together with the Body Shop sensual Ylang Ylang shower gel.
Today I used the Ylang Ylang gel for shower and it brought back a flood of memories and I so wanted to be back in Bali. It's a beautiful place especially Ubud and in some way I fell that my time there has changed the direction of my life. Fragrances were introduced to India in form of Attar by the Mughals. Attar are much more concentrated than normal alcohol perfumes and have the most mystically exotic fragrance as they are usually made using natural ingredients. It's hard to find authentic Attars in big cities but it's available in smaller cities with large Muslim population. The most exclusive Attar is that which smells like rain on parched earth that of wet earth on the day of the first rain of the season and only a few places can make this attar.

Photo credit: Naufrago2007