I love NY ??

Empire City, Gotham, The City that never sleeps, anyway you slice the 'Big Apple' pie New York City is the one of the most ethnically diverse and culturally stimulating places on the planet. It is also VERY crowded. If you are a person who is claustrophobic or one who doesn't appreciate their personal space being violated, then NYC may not be the place for you because chances that you may smell what the guy sitting next to you had for lunch or notice the personal hygiene (or lack there of..) of the lady standing in front of you [snow flakes on shoulders in the middle of summer!] are pretty darn good.

One thing I noticed about native New Yorkers is that they have a big personality. They have an opinion on practically anything under the sun and are never shy to let you know how they feel, even though you are a stranger to them. Being the quiet person that I am I found this brazenness extremely amusing as this was a far leap from the polite, always accommodating people I was used to encountering back home.

My personal experiences with NYC have been a mixed bag so far. I am tempted to label it a rude city after having dealt with obnoxious customer services reps at stores who will not even make eye contact with you, if they ever do acknowledge your existence, to being cursed by strangers for no apparent reason. The most memorable ones among these, apart from being given 'the finger', was the time when I was given 'advice' on my apparent stupidity for having chosen a traffic impeding strolling suitcase for the busy streets of NY rather than a wise choice, which would have been a backpack; and also the time when a random guy yelled at me, 'Hey Yankee, go home!'. After considerable amount of googling of the term 'Yankee' I realized I wasn't one and looked nothing like one, may be the guy lacked a significant vocabulary and could not find a better word in the heat of the moment.

In spite of these experiences, it is the pleasant and quirky ones that keep me from labeling the city rude. Like the time when I fainted on a train and was helped by complete strangers who made sure all my belongings were safe and were with me until the paramedics came. I still remember the lady who refused to leave me until it was determined that I was well, even if it meant for her being late to work and also the lady who called later that day to checkup on me. This along with being helped by strangers every time I've slipped and fallen on a patch of ice have reaffirmed my faith in humanity. [Three winters so far and three bad falls for each one of them, hope the jinx is broken and 4th time's the charm]

So, like any big city NYC has the good, the bad and the ugly. Living here has made me bolder and stronger, I just hope it hasn't made me thick skinned and insensitive. Oh, as for the quirky experience I had, it was the time I got skin care advice from someone on the subway. Her tip - Mix aspirin and warm water and rub the mixture on your skin to make it blemish free!

Smell-A-Memory

Have you ever come across a familiar smell that reminds you of a special someone or transports you back in time to a fond childhood memory? They say that most of the memories we cherish have more to do with the way we feel at the moment that experience was recorded in our brains rather than what we saw, heard or smelled. Think of it this way, you may have had the fortune of seeing the Niagara Falls, but what would you associate with that memory? Is it the size of the water fall, amount of water gushing or the mist in the air? Or is it the way you felt dwarfed by its massive size, the chill that you felt when you dipped your feet in the water or the way you felt when the cool mist brushed against your cheeks? Memories are always more vivid when there are fond feelings associated with them.

As I sat in a subway car on a hot day, I readied myself for the onslaught my senses were about to face. Rush hour in a train on a hot summer day is definitely not a pleasant experience, smelling some one’s perspiration in an encapsulated space is even more not so. That is why I was pleasantly surprised when I smelled a hint of camphor waft through the air very briefly. That smell although subtle triggered a very clear and strong memory from my childhood. That is when I decided to make a small list of smells and people/events in my life they remind me of.

Camphor – Tulsi Pooja after Diwali, with my paternal grandparents, Mom, Dad and uncle surrounding the Tulsi and me beating hard on a small gong to drive away the ‘negative forces’.

Fresh Dalitoy – Saturday Afternoons when I was in the 8th grade, when my Sister and I got home, after a half-day of school, to freshly prepared hot food. On the other days the food was packed in lunch boxes, so Saturday allowed me to enjoy a hot lunch on a school day.

Ripe Mangoes – This reminds me of summer holidays spent with my maternal grandparents by the beach; it also reminds me of my Mom as she is very fond of this fruit ... almost a ‘Mango Freak’!

Mothballs – my Grandma’s beloved closet which she very rarely allowed me to see. I always was intrigued when she did give me a glimpse of its contents. I remember being hit by a cool crisp mothballish scent whenever she opened those closet doors.

Old spice – This is a very distinct smell and reminds me of my Dad when I was in kindergarten. Also associated with this are memories of me emptying bottles of Old Spice into little swimming pools that I etched out of Thermocol for my Barbies.

There are several other smells that trigger memories but these are few of the ones that I can recall off the top of my head. As I read through my list I notice it mostly consists of memories with my family; there are several other scents/smells that remind me of people, places and even situations I’ve been in but those smells are hard to describe [ for example: The warm muddy damp smell just after it has rained ] and those memories vague unless triggered. There are a whole list of smells that remind me of unpleasant places and situations, but we’ll save that for another post, shall we?

So, the next time you come across a familiar scent/smell/aroma take a minute and try to remember who or what it reminds you of…. You’ll give your olfactory membranes a well deserved work-out and in the process may unearth a forgotten memory as well.