Eau de Mumbai

I have an "Odorama" scratch n' sniff card from the John Waters' cult classic film Polyester. I'm pleased to say that the smells still work, even after all of the years of storage and use. This convinces me that the simple chemistry involved is robust and long lasting, and therefore viable for other outcomes.

I propose one of these outcomes is the halfbaked idea entitled "Eau de Mumbai".

Many parts of the world are characterised by their smell, and it's often the subject of remarks. The smells of India are never forgotten, and of course for most people never experienced. Eau de Mumbai brings them into the palm of your hand, allowing you to scratch n' sniff from a large number of different parts of the world and experience the prevailing odour(s).

Some of these are refreshing, like crunching on alpine needles in a forest in Finland, but others may be less so, like the smell of the air after a day of nasty combat in a street in Idlib, Syria.

I always remember the smell of Chicago when I first went there and saw green flames belching skywards at night from the chimneys in Gary, Indiana.

What does the North Pole smell like? I have no idea. What does Bejing smell like on the days when it's so polluted, you're advised not to go out. Or how about a spice factory in a backstreet in Dhaka? Wet Irish Setter dog drying in front of a turf fire? What's it like to experience the subtle lingering prehistoric smell of the Lascaux's caves in The Dordogne, home of the famous cave paintings?

Eau de Mumabai enables you to choose from a menu of numerous smells, and have your own customised scratch n' sniff card made to order, for your personal use; to satisfy your curiosity, or as an aide memoire gift for a special friend to bring back recollections of a unique place in time. (my running socks draped over a radiator in Amsterdam after an early morning trip around Vondel Park! ha)