Monday, August 26, 2013

The Happy Place




This post has been divided into two parts ,
"The Happy Place" is about different scents around me and how they power up my memory cords.
Smelly to Smiley  is  about this brilliant theory I’ve come up with ,
it’s a fun read make sure u check that one out too.



The Happy Place....

       We all have a place we escape to when the world outside gets too real to deal with. This “go to” place works like an effervescent in our otherwise dull, boring, irksome, mundane lives. This happy place of mine is all over my timeline. Small insignificant everyday things work like little time machines that take me back to my happy place!

 

@The Movies

     The best thing I love about the movies  is the inviting aroma of the popcorn , the little golden balls of goodness. The scrumptious waft of freshly popped kernels takes me back to some amazing memories of growing up with my brother . Don’t get me wrong , like all siblings, we despised each other. But when we were left home alone , the fun began. I still remember our popcorn n movies marathons.
     No, our popcorn didn’t come straight out of the microwave bag , they were made ol school style , where every pop in the pan was like music to two, hungry, salivating kids and the aroma worked like an open invitation to our friends.

    But people today , are so apocalyptic . They don't wanna dirty their designer kitchens so the aroma of tadka sucked in by the chimney, or worse , it's gets murdered in the microwave.
I remember my MA's theory about cooking , she told me its best to let the aroma of food being cooked to linger in the house, once it's reached you, no matter what part of house your are in, you involuntary start salivating and this , get your gut ready for digestion. Brilliant theory don't you reckon?
So once in while get off the grid and do it like our Mom's did it.


  Dussehra mornings !

    
       There is a farsan factory right across where I live , and whenever they have gathiyas on the menu , I feel like its Dussehra all over again, I don’t know how many of you know this , but on the Dussehra  morning it’s  customary to have  breakfast consisting of fafda and jalebi . Back in the days , to beat the rush me and my brother would queue up to the local halwai to get out freshly made breakfast , and while we would wait our turn, the smell of freshly made fafda’s kept intoxicating the air … 
 (p. s I am salivating as we speak . When did you say it was Dussehra again?)







The toxic caffeine !

    
       Am not a coffee drinker , it turns me into this crazy insomniac zombie , but this I learnt way latter in life.. during college I was hung-up on a delicious senior for two years, to emulate him I too started having filter coffee hoping he’d notice me. Soon, I started having sleepless night's and cheekily blamed it on love . But later, was diagnosed with "Caffeine-induced sleep disorder."   Surely my coffee drinking days are passé , but sometimes I secretly open a can of the beans , take a good whiff , and the feeling of  first love comes floating right back;)

  It's Monsoon all year round for me (well , figuratively at least)

      
      I simply love to wake up to the smell of wet soil when my self-proclaimed, under qualified botanist husband waters his plants every morning . It takes me back to the days of our ancestral home in Gondal, Gujarat . Where my Ba sprinkle the veranda with water every morning , it gave out the most intoxicating aroma in the world , kind of  like the first rains bring with them . She said it was her way of thanking the earth for letting us be a part of her existence…  But today if I try to thank the mother earth form where I live  , am sure the society snobs will slap me with a notice .

   

The heavenly gift !


     The Parijat , these are Krishna’s favorite flowers she said , Ma made me gather these every morning . She would turn them into a garlands for her Kanha,  while I begged her to narrate the same story every day ..

          

  “The Parijat flower and fragrance was not available on earth but Lord Krishna brought this heavenly tree to earth at the request of one of his wives, Satyabhama. Both his wives Satyabhama and Rukmini wanted the tree in their courtyard and a quarrel over it ensued between them. But Krishna planted the Parijata tree in Satyabhama's courtyard in such a way that when the tree flowered, the flowers fell in Rukmini's courtyard.”

         



    I have the same tree in my society and when I leave for work in the morning, sometimes I pick a few. They remind me of Ma and her "folklore of love" all over again. The other day I was in the car with a few in my palm and my husband said , what is with you and these flowers ,Every time you sniff them you have this "orgasmic expression" on your face, is this some kind of a fetish I don’t know about??

I just smiled and told him , this is my happy place honey…. its my My Orgasmic Déjà vu !


 
      Don't you just wish if companies could package the smell of first rain , or the aroma of freshly brewed coffee or that of freshly popped corn? Am sure if they could, it would be a runaway hit!
I wonder what's stopping AmbiPur????
     Come to think of it,  if you are from AmbiPur, you might want to take a look at my following business proposition :
Why not tie up with the Indian railways and give them your products at subsidized rate.
Have a Set and Refresh put in every compartment of every local and cross-country train.

It would give the poor passengers a good ambiance to travel in . Believe me , when your frozen in a sea of people on a 6.45 local and you nose is dug deep into a not so evolved 100kg fat aunties armpit where words like "deodorants" sound gibberish to her , a refreshing  note of citrus would be a great reminder "that there is light in the other end of the tunnel"

This will give the product great recall and could be an innovative way to reach your audience(considering the two million people who travel by railways each day).
There will be one glitch of it being stolen , but can you really blame the people if they too want their home or office to smell inviting?

 Well , you don't need to steal your AmbiPur ! As opposed to popular belief , it not that expensive , only feels like it ..
 You can simply click on the link below and order yours TODAY!



www.facebook.com/AmbiPurIndia

 This post is my entry for ‘Smelly To Smiley contest’ an initiative by AmbiPur powered by  Indiblogger.
 

Smelly To Smiley


Remember the time when even before you could enter the room you quietly go in your head either


 “man ! what just died in there"
Or
 “wow , did I just die and end up in Eden”



After hours of research in 6.45 local ,with no qualification what so ever ,
 I have derived the following theory ,

 “Smell is most involuntary of all senses”


My reasoning :

If you don’t like what you see , you can look away,

If you don’t like what you taste you can barf it right out ,

If you don’t like how it feels, you can kick him in the a**,

If you don’t like what you hear , you can pump up to volume to  Mr. Himesh Reshmiay,

But if you don’t like what you smell , well you’re in hell, sure you can run in to your little foxhole till the air clears (literally), but what if you’re stuck in a meeting or hitchin a ride with the big  guys on the 36th floor in a car that can only be described as a smokers dungeon.You can’t stop breathing , in those time’s all you can do is, fake up a sinus and sniff the clone on the kerchief and keep telling yourself to

 “think happy thoughts”…..

Unpleasant smells have a way of invading our homes. The stink of garbage leak into the kitchen, bathroom smells permeate the hallways and pet smells engulf every corner of a home. To combat these smells, you would normally destroy the source, but most of the time, this isn't really an option. Your only other option is to cover up the odor with something pleasant. Hears how...


From smelly to smiley into 3 simple steps,

Step one : log on to   www.facebook.com/AmbiPurIndia
Step two : pick your product
Step three : unpack , spray and breathe again.
  
  Need help in picking the right product , don't worry !
I have put my innate sense of smell through gurgling test's and have come up with perfect recommendation of products for your home, office , car and the loo.

      

 




 In the car ,  I loved the AmbiPur car perfume’s Pacific Air fragrance , great reminder of the freas ocean breeze when your busy dogging the craters in 6pm jams. Starter kit  @rs.200, refill @rs.175

 
        
      At home I personally love the AmbiPur’s  Effects , Meadows n Rain. The fragrance has lovely earthy notes that makes you warm as you enter the room. @rs.199
      
      








 




In the loo ,   this place needs the most amount of attention , so the AmibPur’s set and refresh is just perfect product . Its works like its name , all you need to do is unpack it , place it and forget about it . I personally love the Sweet Citrus Zest fragrance,  the undertones of citrus work like a little pick me up while your busy doing your business. @rs.199 , Refill @rs.160.






 


At the office I would recommend the AmbiPur’s Effects, Linen and Sky.
Its subtle but not overpowering, just perfect for that  formal setting.@rs.199
        
      





AmbiPur is coming up with another new product Mini Vent Clip , it claims to eliminate odors and make your car so refreshing , you will feel you’re on a holiday every time you drive. Now the product is yet to be released in the market but it sure sounds revolutionary , watch this space for my reviews on that one.



Disclaimer : If you choose to revamp your place with the Ambi Pur’s range of products , then be warned that people may never wanna leave . So may I suggest , you might want to use it sparingly when the mother in law is in town.


 This post is my entry for ‘Smelly To Smiley contest’ an initiative by AmbiPur powered by  Indiblogger.