Not the mint that comes packed in little rectangular paper or cardboard boxes, but the fresh mint leaves you get only in the vegetable bazaars. I found this out a little while ago, and decided to investigate... the answer is that as a child, I was susceptible to heat, and that's not the easiest thing to cope with if you live in Delhi. My mother concocted a syrup concentrate whose main ingredients were raw mangoes and mint.
That's why mint smells like summer.
Long train journeys, with games of snakes and ladders thrown in.
Rain. Rain on dry, parched earth. The fragrance of quenched thirst.
Jasmine, roses, bougainvilleas, marigolds, carnations, freesias, gladioli, hydrangea... there's something about the oppressing heat of Delhi's summers that draws out all the perfumes of any garden, until all the disparate smells form one unique, heady, composite.
Hot curry and steamed Basmathi*.
Spice. Spice from the kitchen. Vegetables cooking in ghee** and masalas***. Chilli powder and cinnamon, thyme and lemons, curry leaves and ginger, cardamom, cloves, garlic.
Old books; new books; books.
Mangoes, grapes, litchis, watermelons, coconuts.
Hide and seek.
Curd and butter milk, heat and leafy shadows, water and flavoured ice.
Nightmares, for I rarely had dreams. Dreams, when I saw them with open eyes.
Incense, stories, laughter.
Crayons and swimming pools.
Neem trees.
This is what my memories smell of.
I hereby tag:
Q who is quite wonderful, and very patient, and who is not nobody.
Saim for whom I have no words, but many smiles.
Myprerogative who never ceases to surprise me. (I do remember your tag, and I'll do it after my exams.)
The whackster who always makes me think, and often makes me smile.
who is beautiful, and whose blog I have enjoyed, but not yet commented upon.
Bindhu who always manages to make me smile.
Arun who sometimes frightens me.
I want to know what you remember.
* A kind of rice.
** A kind of clarified butter used heavily in traditional north Indian cooking.
*** Spices.
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Saim gave me an award.
:)
My first :)
I'd like to pass this on to:
The boys at MATHAWAADA
I'd also like to pass it back to Saim.
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I have exams again. Isn't my life fun? Yay. Not.Good luck to everyone else out there who will also be joining me in my misery. Do well.
ryt now the way this Calcutta weather is going, all I rem is sweat and sun when the word summer comes to mind:(
ReplyDeletebtw...thnx 4 d award
tag...just realised am sufferinf 4m long term memory loss:D
I was so proud of myself. I knew what Basmathi is (though I've only seen it spelled without the h).
ReplyDeleteWhat am I supposed to remember? Does it matter? And so you know, I'm not very patient.
And thank you. :)
Oops! I haven't done the other tag. In fact, I am on a mission to figure out what others don't know about me. :-)
ReplyDeleteMaybe, I'll do this one first.
Thanks for the award. My first one too. What am I supposed to do with it? I am novice, do let me know. :-)
Thank you for tagging me! Aw, I'm beautiful? Hannon le, mellon-nin! Oh, I am glad to know you enjoy my blog! I enjoy yours also!
ReplyDeleteNow, how exactly does this tag work? I've never had a tag quite like this one. (Please reply on my blog, if it's all right? I have the 'out of sight, out of mind' problem) :D
@ CN: Yeah... you're right next to the sea... gotta be bad at this time, but overall, you'll probably be better off than us... You're welcome :)
ReplyDeleteBlah.
@ Q: Yeah- BasmatHi is a very South Indian way of saying things... the extra 'H' in everything, i dunno why. I also don't khow why I spelt it that way... Hmmm... :P
Basmati is a brand of Rice that has been patented, and is very famous all over the world.
It matters because I want to know :P :D
Well... patience is relative, is it not? You've always been so with me.
You're welcome :)
@ Bindhu: Put it up on your blog! just click on the picture, and either upload it through the URL on the address bar, or just download the pic, and upload it. Then show it off somewhere in your space- for example, I made a separate page for it- check out the link list at the very top of the page :)
@ Eärwen: YOu're welcome :) Thanks!
K... the explanation has baan given.
Le suilad, mellon! Im pedich Edhellon, but not as fluently as I'd like.
ReplyDeleteI can also write in Sindarin and Quenyan elvish script, and speak several elvish phrases.
I am learning it (I love the sound of it!)
Well, must go!
Anar kaluva tielyanna, noro go hul, bado go Eru!
Namarie!
Ëarwen
Le suilad, mellon! Im pedich Edhellon
ReplyDeletemeans Greetings, friend! I speak Elvish.
And Anar Kaluva Tielyanna means the sun shall shine down upon your path,
noro go hul, bado go Eru means run with the wind, go with God, and Namarie means Farewell. :)
This is so vivid and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete@ Eärwen: I can understand bits of whatever languages are spoken in the book... but mostly they're words and not phrases :) Thanks for the translation.
ReplyDelete@ Cuileann: Thank you very, very much :D
Why would I need to be patient with you?
ReplyDeleteAnd you still haven't told me what I'm supposed to remember!
Because I don't update that often. Oh, yeah- sorry- I want you to write about whatever you remember in association to other senses- like the mint smell reminded me of summer. This is mostly a growing up thing, so what you remember from those years.
ReplyDelete:)
All right, then. It could take a bit, because I want to do it well...
ReplyDeletehey thanks for the award! lol. im not too sure what im supposed to do for the tag though...
ReplyDeleteWHAT YOU HAVE TO DO FOR THE TAG.
ReplyDeleteIs this:
Like in the incident I mentioned about the smell of mint leaves, there must be some things, smells, words, sights, etc. that remind you of your childhood. Thant's what I'm talking about- what do you remember.
The stuff in the post is what I remember :)
Hahah...nice...Hey Thanx alot for the award! How can we collect the award??? Enlighten us...:)
ReplyDeleteHOW TO COLLECT THE AWARD:
ReplyDeleteClick on the picture of the award, and upload it to your blog either through the URL, or by actually downloading it first, and then uploading it here. Simple :)
WHAT TO DO WITH THE AWARD:
Display it in your side column, or use a separate link or whatever- just like in the real world, except that here you don't have any special lighting.