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The spell of smell
 First,
some basic facts about the sense of smell, more formally called
Olfaction. It is probably the most interesting sense among the five
senses, that help us to communicate with the Planet Earth and its
mysterious elements. Primitive men and women used it solely to
figure out what was safe to eat. But Olfaction obviously had a far
more colourful connection with the brain, as human beings found out
as they evolved and grew.
The story of Lakshman’s recovery narrates how— since the beginning
of civilization— aromatic plants have been used for medicinal,
therapeutic purposes. Now let me tell you the fascinating tale of a
man who lived in the past century. A French author called Marcel
Proust. In his novel Swann’s Way, he describes how the smell and
taste of a piece of Madeline, a homemade sweet, dipped in a
decoction of lime-blossom, opened the floodgate of his
memories—-resurrecting vivid visions of a long-forgotten town, where
he lived in his childhood. “Immediately the old grey house upon the
street….rose up like a stage set ... and with the house the town,
from morning to night and in all weathers,” he writes.
Have’t we all experienced the ‘Proustian effect’ some time or other
in our lives? A whiff of freshly fried savouries conjuring up images
of Diwalis spent years ago with grandparents. Or smell of crackling
new paper dragging out the picture of a class room in a primary
school— from the depths of our
memories… There is no doubt whatsoever that smell affects our memory
and our emotions. Pretty deeply. Blind people can recognize visitors
by their smell. Helen Keller could sometimes identify a person’s
occupation as soon as he entered the room!
Smell also contributes significantly to taste. Without it,
everything we eat or drink would be dull and lifeless. Try drinking
a glass of sweet fruit juice while you hold your nose. It will taste
almost like water. You see, smell hits our brain faster than taste.
It takes approximately 25,000 times more molecules of a piece of
mango barfi to taste it than to smell it. When you have a head cold
and your nose is blocked, doesn’t every morsel you put in your mouth
taste like cardboard? This is because the human olfactory system is
large and is located very close to the key parts of the brain (see
box: How do we smell?).
In other words, we human beings, like most other animals, are under
the spell of smell.
Scent of money
So, it is not difficult to understand why fragrances have always
been dear. In ancient cultures, herbs, plants, animal extracts, and
every other source of aroma were considered precious commodities.
(see centre spread). Fragrant oils, pastes, and spices were so much
in demand that their value was equated with that of gold. If our
Indian epics like Ramayana are redo lent with references of aromatic
products, they have been mentioned 188 times in the Bible! (says Dr
Gary Young, a Utah-based aromacologist). They were used for making
perfumes, cosmetics, cooking ingredients, and incense.. And, of
course for medicinal purposes.
Things have not changed much, since. At least on this front. Today,
world sales of fragrance and flavors materials are estimated at US $
10-15 billion per year. 25 per cent of these materials are used in
cosmetics and toiletries (includes perfumes), 34 per cent are used
in soap and detergents with the remaining 41 per cent used in a
variety of other products like candles, air fresheners, aromatherapy
oils and pesticides.
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