A heavenly perfume

Now that the monsoon season is almost over, it feels like spring to me. Temperatures are rising again and the trees and plants seem even greener and lush thanks to the daily rain showers they’ve received. The plants on my terrace have grown by at least a foot. And all of a sudden there’s a heavenly smell in the air… I discovered that this divine perfume was coming from a tree down the street.

A smell can take you back to somewhere you’ve been before. In this case it was Pondicherry and La Marsa.

I thought maybe it was honeysuckle but wasn’t sure. Then I got the answer from a short article in Thursday’s paper.

This enchanting perfume comes from the Ylang Ylang or Canaga Odorata, a flower of the Canaga tree. These yellow flowers have six long stem-like petals which fall to the ground creating a scented carpet. These fragrant flowers are used to produce perfumes and essential oils.

Though I can easily bring you the colours, sights and sounds of India via the Internet, smells are a bit more challenging. So just close your eyes and imagine a sweet, heavenly perfume and you’ll be instantly transported to a tiny corner of Bangalore.