An interesting article by Leanne Ogasawara about smell of cities.
Some excerpts from article:
“Cities are smells, said the great Mahmoud Darwish:
Acre is the smell of iodine and spices. Haifa is the smell of pine and wrinkled sheets. Moscow is the smell of vodka on ice. Cairo is the smell of mango and ginger. Beirut is the smell of the sun, sea, smoke, and lemons. Paris is the smell of fresh bread, cheese, and derivations of enchantment. Damascus is the smell of jasmine and dried fruit. Tunis is the smell of night musk and salt. Rabat is the smell of henna, incense, and honey”
“So what of Indian cities? For me, Srinagar was perfumy: floral from flowers in bloom in gardens scattered around the city. But also it was the smell of sewage coming from the lake. Cardamom and spicy Kashmiri chai too. Delhi back then smelled sweet from the burning dung fires; smelled of exhaust too–even way back then. Shimla was freshly baked bread and heavenly deodar forests.”
“I still regret not making it to Lahore –for it must have been the most fragrant city of all. “Pearl of the Punjab” and “Paris of the East”–what does a nation do upon losing a city so perfumed in history as that one?”
“Here’s the simplest thing you could do to accomplish your desire, if you have not already done it. Move into the city. Leave the suburbs, and the need to drive everywhere. AS a confirmed city lover for all of my life, i think that is the basis of a less complicated and more peaceful existence. In other words, if you still live in a suburb, there is no point.”
To read full article click link below:
Posted by F. Sheikh