memories of smells

There are some smells from childhood that stick with you, smells with which you quickly associate a memory of a  person, place or thing. Here are some on mine from growing up in India.

1. fried fish = missing grandma

2. sticky, sweet honey = grandpa slaughtering a giant jack fruit with his machete

3. ginger and lemon = icky sore throats

4. disinfectant = mom scrubbing me clean (on the front porch)

5. coffee = quality time with dad = finding errors in the newspaper

6. rotten mangos and sweat = hugs from a specific uncle

7. asafoetida = people sans deodorant

8. rancid oil – yummy roadside treats

9. sour milk = poor rural clinics

10. Baked potato = a cobra is slithering somewhere close by