Parfum

I am not one for fragrances. I mean, perfume or eau de cologne, is always a refreshing change and can be a big turn on (for me of course) but I never consciously spent a huge amount on any fragrance.

So one fine, chilly morning when my friend came upto me with a felt-covered little glass vial, asking me to hold out my wrist, I was curious.

Attar (or ittar ) to me was always the rose flavoured kinds which is deliberately sprinkled on guests who come into functions (usually marriages), right at the door. Imagine - you in your finest, walking in gathering your odds and ends to make a bombastic appeareance and there stands a small little girl given the ignomious task of sprinkling rose attar flavoured water on guests - you reel back in shock.

Of course not her fault. That was her responsibility. But you now enter the auspicious occasion with wet splotches on your gorgeous kanjeevaram and on your perfectly done "hardly there" look.

So sitting on a floor, holding out my wrist, is definitely not how I pictured myself wearing attar. Voluntarily that too!

But it was the name of the fragrance that did it for me. "Mite (as on the bottle)" or "Mitti (as I imagine it should be after being explained the fragrance)" was what it was called. It was (the attar makers claim) the smell of earth after long waited for shower.

Yes yes, I know, one of the most heavenly fragrances and keeps its top spot on nearly everyone's "these are a few of my favourite things" list. So am sure you can understand my curiosity.

Attar is a strong essence which, only when mixed with your won body oils, emits its fragrance. In my usual hurry to smell like the freshly washed earth, I did not wait and smelled it as soon as it was dabbed and thought to myself this is not how I smell it!

But wait a little longer and slowly as your body does it work, it smells divine. Enough for me drool after it.

So thank you Annie, for buying me two lovely fragrances (" Mite " and " Juhi ") and I really look forward to wearing them despite they being nicknamed "man repellent" (Ha I wonder if that will work?)