Fragrance of My Mother

Summary

The author cherishes the unique and comforting scent of their mother, which evokes feelings of love, safety, and home.

Abstract

The article "Fragrance of My Mother" is a heartfelt tribute to the author's mother, whose scent represents more than just a fragrance. It symbolizes the unconditional love, care, and nurturing that the author has felt since birth. The author describes the profound impact of this scent, which they noticed was missing from their life when they first moved away from home. Despite attempts to replicate the smell with the same detergent and expensive perfumes, the author realized that the essence of their mother's scent could not be duplicated. It was only upon returning home and embracing their mother that the author's clothes absorbed the familiar and cherished aroma once again. This scent, which permeates their entire house, is described as a complex blend of floral, fresh, and sweet notes, infused with qualities like love, compassion, strength, and friendship. The author keeps a handkerchief of their mother's as a tangible reminder of her presence and the superpowers they hope to inherit, which includes the ability to love limitlessly. The article concludes with the author expressing deep gratitude and love for their mother, acknowledging that her fragrance is a constant source of inspiration and strength, transcending distance and time.

Opinions

The author believes their mother's scent is superior to any perfume, representing the essence of maternal love.
The scent of the mother is associated with a sense of belonging and emotional security.
The author values the emotional connection to their mother over the actual physical scent, as it embodies her qualities and the comfort of home

The most heavenly perfume I have ever smelt and the only one I truly love

“Maa” | Author’s own image | Picture credits: Kshitij Jatale

I found my mother’s handkerchief in my dresser today. It fragranced of her. It is the most heavenly perfume I have ever smelt and the only one I have truly loved for all my life.

The first time when I moved out of my parents house, I sensed that my clothes didn’t smell the same. I tried different clothes one after the other, washed them, ironed them and put on expensive fragrances, but I was missing “the scent“. I asked my mother which detergent did she use so that my clothes smell the exact same way as they used to at home. The detergent didn’t make a difference. I slowly let the perfume go away from my life until the day when I returned back home three months later. My mother was right at the door, waiting to hug me tight. Suddenly, my sweaty travel clothes started to smell different. They fragranced of my mother.

Her fragrance is in no way normal. Our entire house is filled with her aroma — bedsheets, clothes, dining table mats, and in fact, the air. It is so hard to define that perfume. It is floral, fresh, powdery, sweet, aromatic, fruity and soft. It has HUGE quantities of love, compassion, empathy, hard-work, safety and deep care. It also has solidarity, strength, support, leadership, laughter and friendship — all wrapped into one. I can smell it even as I write it. It’s crazy how good it is, that fragrance!

Maybe this was the first perfume I ever smelt. It made me feel safe, loved, heard, understood, cared for — truly, unconditionally and limitlessly, right from the second I was born. And, maybe this is exactly why I started to miss it the moment I stepped out of my house. And which is why, the next time I left, I carried this little handkerchief with me. I carry it with me wherever I go. I secretly think that it will pass on at least some of her secret superpowers to me. It reminds me of her. It reminds me of home. It reminds me that I am loved and taken care of, that oh-so-heavenly fragrance.

While I have said this to her innumerable number of times, there is no gratitude that’s ever enough, and no “I love you” will ever do justice to her effortlessness and love in raising me and my siblings onto three adult human beings, and her love continues and reaches us across the seven oceans, every day, every minute, every second. I carry her in me and my thoughts, hoping to make her proud. Her fragrance keeps me going.

Mumma, your fragrance is out-of-the-world! I love you and forever will. No ‘thank you’ is ever enough.