EP07 : Smells Like You, Feels Like Home

Half of our memories are bottled up in fragrances. Just take a deep breath at the right (or wrong) place and boom, you’re back in 2008, sitting in a classroom wondering why geometry exists.

Some people say photographs hold memories. I disagree. Fragrances do. 
Smell is the ultimate time machine, one sniff and you’re transported to a moment you didn’t even know was hiding in some dusty corner of your brain. 

If LOVE had a smell, it wouldn’t be a perfume ad with a slow-motion beach walk. It would be something simple, something ordinary, and yet so deeply yours. It’s funny how a fragrance can become a person. Like that one particular smell that clings to their shirt or sometimes just them. 

You hug them, and for a second the world doesn’t matter, because that smell is home. And it’s not just romantic love, I’m talking about your mom’s dupatta, carrying that gentle scent of detergent, talcum powder, and comfort that makes you feel safe even when you’re falling apart. 

Or the smell of your dad after he comes home from work, sweat mixed with aftershave, and somehow it smells like security. Or that one friend whose hoodie you borrowed, and even days later, the fragrance stayed, like an unspoken hug. 

These smells become bookmarks in our life stories. You can’t Google-search the fragrance of “them”.

And when they’re gone, even for a while, it’s that smell you miss the most. The one that lingers on your pillow, in your clothes, in your memory. 

Talking more about your mother’s dupatta; it’s not just fabric, it’s childhood wrapped in unconditional love! Hug her and suddenly you’re five years old again, crying over a broken toy, and she’s saying, “Shhh, it’s okay.”
Luxury brands can shut down because nothing, and I mean NOTHING, can beat this smell. If mental peace had a fragrance, this would be it. Every time you hug her, you feel like you’ve bought an unlimited data pack for your soul.

That favorite oversized hoodie of yours isn’t just a piece of cloth you own, it’s a portable hug. It smells like comfort, lazy mornings, and a little bit of you. One deep inhale and suddenly, the world can wait. Somedays, it's just you and your hoodie against the world.

And then there’s the smell of home; oh, that magical mix of familiar furniture, a hint of incense, the usual detergent powder and yesterday’s leftover curry. You walk in after a long trip and that first whiff feels like a tight hug saying, “Welcome back, drama queen, by the way the maid didn’t come.”

But some smells take you even further back; like the smell of new books, which is basically crack for every book lover. That woody, slightly sweet scent that makes you believe life is about to change… until you read two chapters and fall asleep.
This smell can cure Monday blues, heartbreaks, and even existential crises. Admit it...you’ve opened a brand-new novel and just inhaled like some book addict. And the old books? They smell like history, wisdom, and unpaid library fines.

And speaking of addictions, can we talk about petrol? Don’t even lie, you loved it too. Every time dad stopped at the pump, you rolled down the window like some aroma expert, inhaling guilt-free poison and feeling oddly satisfied. 

Then there’s the rain smell, earthy smell if you’re fancy, but for us it was just “Waaah, baarish!” That fragrance made us feel like Bollywood leads, waiting for Raj to appear on a bike. 

Spoiler alert: Raj didn’t come, mosquitoes did.

But for those first few drops, life feels poetic. You just feel like grabbing a good cup of tea until the power goes off and your Wi-Fi dies.

The Smell of First Crush: Remember your first crush? No? That’s fine.
But you remember that axe deodorant smell, don’t you? That over-sprayed cloud of confidence that entered the classroom before he did. Half the boys smelled like a chemical warfare experiment, and half the girls secretly loved it. 

Ah, young love… and mild suffocation.

And then the smell of school tiffin boxes, a classroom filled with the aroma of parathas, sambhar, Maggi, and that one lucky kid who always had paneer butter masala and never shared. 

Those smells weren’t just smells; they were just pure feelings sharp at 1.30 PM.

There’s something about that just-washed-clothes smell. For a second, you believe you have your life together. Although you don’t! But for those 10 minutes, folding warm clothes, you feel like you could win an award for adulting.
Or the smell of a bakery at 6 AM. Fresh bread, hot puffs, vanilla caramel aroma and cookies right out of the oven. Suddenly you’re thinking about quitting your job and becoming a baker in Paris. 

Spoiler: you’ll still wake up at 6 AM, but to catch the metro to your 9-to-5

And let’s not forget airports, that mix of coffee, perfume, and ambition. You feel so international, like, “Bonjour, world!”… then reality hits because you just got broke after buying a sandwich for 500 rupees.

See? Fragrances are sneaky little magicians. They don’t just hit your nose, they hit your heart. They carry people, places, and moments you thought you forgot. A single whiff and suddenly you’re not here anymore,you’re everywhere you’ve ever been. 

People fade from photos, voices blur in your head, but that fragrance? That stays. And years later, if you catch it somewhere; a stranger passing by wearing the same perfume, a breeze carrying a familiar note, it hits you like a time machine. 

That’s the thing about love: it’s invisible, but sometimes… it smells like home.

So next time a smell stops you, don’t just sniff and move on. Breathe it in, live it again. Because one day, years from now, someone will hug you, inhale your scent, and say: 

“This smells like home.”