The scent of a city

Every city that I've been to and liked (and some that I don't like) has a very distinct scent. It is kind of like people's homes - every one has a very specific scent. If you stay at one long enough you even pick up a bit of the scent and bring it back to your own home. Michigan always smells to me like there is a snowstorm waiting to sneak up on you (even in the midst of summer)...Bar Harbor, Maine smells like autumn since that is when we always go there...dried leaves and sea air and apple pie...Florida smells musty...Augusta, GA smells like the sourness of a pulp and paper mill...

I am currently in Mumbai, India and the moment I got off the plane I recognized the familiar scent of India. I'm guessing that most of you think it is a bad smell but in reality, it is neither a pleasing nor a displeasing smell...it is just very distinct. Everybody I know that has visited this great country has always agreed. It varies a bit from city to city but overall, there is a specific scent to India. If I had a way to place a scratch and sniff on this blog I would...but I can't...so that means you have to come and visit to find out for yourself...you really, really should...

I'm not even sure I can describe it. Okay, just pondered how to describe it for a bit....literally...the first word that comes to mind is history. You know the smell of a small town library...a cross between the mold and the dust...but also the smell of newness from the people coming in...from kids and some body's lunch being heated up? That to me is the smell of history...the mixing of the old with the new. This is how India smells to me. There is a lot of dust, a lot of dirt, burning trash, exhaust fumes...but there is also a smell of spices being cooked, and perfume, and flowers, and gardens. (I am currently IM'ing with my friend Ruth who has been here and she describes the scent of India as earthy and slightly swamp.)

I love India. I really have no reason to coming from a small town in Michigan. It is nothing like home. But since the very first time I set foot on this soil I have loved it. Doesn't matter the city or the circumstances for me being here...I just love it. The food, the people, the scent of the cities, the country, the clothing...I adore it all. Even last year when I was here during the horrible Mumbai bombings I loved being here. Somehow India knew to keep us safe from that and has us stashed away in the northern part of the country.

I am here for only three days. I really should extend my trip and do some touristy things one of these times but I almost don't want to. I like that I see the 'real' India since I only come for work. Instead, for the next couple of days I will enjoy the fabulous people in my office here, the wonderful food (I could talk for hours about real Indian food which you have not tasted unless you have been here), the great service, and the scent of Mumbai...