What does India smell like?

luna

I know, I know, weird question. I make my students use sensory details a lot in their writing, so that's what got me wondering. I imagine for an Indian city it's an admixture of burnt oil, curry, and damp earth. I've never been so I'd love to hear from all of you Indiaphiles.

gregornot

Namaste,
India being the size that it is encompasses all ranges of sensory smells , from the over crowed sweaty, humid cities to the clean wind swept Himalayas. So for your students you need to limit the scope of sensory details or your papers will be as large as India it self
Peace, gregor

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"If the roots remain untouched and firm in the ground,
a felled tree still puts forth new shoots.
If the underlying habit of craving and aversion is not
uprooted, suffering arises anew over and over again."

arunchs

smell of dust in the summers
damp earth in the first rains
smell of freshness and nature in rainy days

Can any one describe the smell of humidity?

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rajiveanand

Smile and drink it in... Smells like cardamom and urine!

R.

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rajiveanand

Unless you're in the mountains with the right girl...

punchinello

Urine, rubbish, diesel and spice. But it's not as bad as I had expected. Except Kochi and Eravikulam.

luna

2 of my favorite things!

Baba

Ah, do not forget that whiff of jasmine when you pass a woman who wears it in her hair!

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Nick-H

Its that powerful scent of mouldy dampness with a touch of phenol disinfectant that hits you as you enter the airport building that is the smell of India for me! Ahhhh.....

Otherwise, the scent of Jasmine and frangipani

Or the incense smell of temples

Or the urine stink of a street corner

Or the open-sewer stench of either of Chennai's rivers

Sadhu

Burning plastic, burning wood, a touch of urine, a touch of incense, and a blast of disinfectant when you step indoors. Fantastic.

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capt_mahajan

hey, maybe we need to merge this with the sink thread, the number of urine comments here

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Outside the machine

Noodle

Close to a river: burning flesh ... (I live next to the river and we get a whiff here sometimes)

And don't forget the Night Queen! A wild flower that blossoms in the hot season and only at night. Uuuuuh!! The most sensuous, sweet, wonderful smelling flower I've ever smelt!

What I also find quite prevalent here (but has been said before) is the smell of sweaty armpits you get everywhere ....

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dzibead

Whoa! That's it for me too!

Captain, far, far too many of your recent posts have had to do with sinks and toilets!

matt67

The japanese are the people to ask this question to. They are famously quoted as saying that the British smell 'milky'.

capt_mahajan

Apologies.

maybe I should, err, piss off then