Mr. Bose again shifted his position, somewhat awkwardly. That was the fourth time and, I couldn’t help but noticing it. The sofa was quite comfortable, nobody ever had any problem with it. I served him some finest Darjeeling tea with homemade cookies. So, what could be the problem?
He took out his kerchief this time and looked like he was trying to blow his nose. That was really odd! For it was me who was suffering from a running nose…he looked perfectly alright when he entered. Of course, it was not that much infectious to affect a person within half an hour!
After exchanging some more pleasantries for five more minutes, he said that he would rather wait outside for my husband.
“It’s ..errrr…very hot here ..ma’am”- he mumbled.
“But the air-conditioner is working fine”! I was quite exasperated.
“Well, okay… I think I forgot to lock my car…..kindly excuse me..please…” and, he almost ran out of the room!
After almost one hour, my husband returned home. As soon as he entered the living room, he sniffed hard and made a face. Then the conversation went in this way.
-What’s the smell? Is there any dead rat around?
-Dead rat? Are you crazy?
-No, wait, not a dead rat! It seems there is a mixture of at least ten dead rats, some rotten eggs and stale fish.
-What? I’m not getting any smell!!!
-That’s because you’re suffering from a running nose and, are temporarily immune to any smell, bad or good.
A cold shiver ran down my spine. Then..I mean..I think…..was that the reason behind Mr. Bose’s sudden disappearance?
But what was the source of that killing smell?
I frantically looked around, but nowhere there was anything suspicious. Then I bent down to look under the sofa AND, there was the culprit!
A pair of my husband’s socks!!!
I forgave Mr. Bose from the deepest core of my heart. I could feel his conundrum, the pathetic situation through which he passed. And all because of my smelly home!
This type of situation is often faced in almost every home. The monsoon has arrived and, there is a typical suffocating smell of wet clothes hovering around. I use incense sticks, place them in strategic positions, but all in vain. Soon after they stop burning, the smell is back, mightier this time.
We, Bengalis especially love fish and, I remember an incident when I invited one of my non-Bengali friend who was a vegetarian. Out of respect and friendly attitude, she never complained, but it was not easy for her to breathe in the fishy smell all the time she was there at my place.
After that, I prefer to treat such guests outside my house. Yes, the homely ambiance, care, and relaxation are always missing when you are in a restaurant; even when they are expensive and class apart.
But, I just can’t allow my guests to spend time in a smelly atmosphere.
I dream of a smell free home, sweet home. I want the transformation #SmellyToSmiley with Ambi Pur.
“I am blogging for #SmellyToSmiley activity atBlogAdda.com in association with Ambi Pur“
Image Courtesy: here
HA HA .. Good one Mani… wishes for the contest 🙂 🙂
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😀 thank you…
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It’s a great story! And I agree about smelly socks 😀 🙂
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😀 😀 …. Thank you…
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Lovely way to create the plot and it was intriguing and though not interesting for the guest for the reader it was fun. Never easy to hide and keep the smell away, it spreads and it stinks and if we are not aware of it, we sink…pretty humorous though the matter was serious, and many times we just don’t know how handle and how to react, these definitely awkward situations we keep facing…
Hope you are having a great week…
😀
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Right, no doubt it’s a serious matter, but we don’t give it much importance. Actually, so many kinds of smells waft around the Indian roads and houses that one can easily make a smell map out of it. 😀
Have a great weekend, Nihar… 🙂
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Yes, we have become immune to these stench and smell very deep in society and spread across roads and houses. Perhaps there we need to clean our mind and our attitude towards life…
You too, lovely weekend…
😀
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True…cleaning up the mind, making it free from all the vices is as important as cleaning the home or locality. Though I think it is the toughest job for mundane human beings like us…. 😀
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It was fun to read your story Maniparna…and yes, this is a common problem in monsoon. Ambi Pur could be a permanent solution to that.
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Yeah..I really want a solution and Ambipur could be the one… 🙂
thanks, dear….
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Haha good job dear friend… wow! 🙂
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😀 …thank you….
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Hilarious! Poor Mr. Bose and what to say about husband? He was shouting at his wife and culprit was his socks. Wives are always clever in spinning such stories. 😛
Once a guest fainted in my house from the smell of fish frying. She was a dry hard vegetarian Vaishnavite. She couldn’t resist the invitation. It was her sister in law’s marriage.
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Yes.. so the wives are called better half 😛
Fainted!!! What an embarrassment …I can understand … 😦
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Haha! This cracked me up 😀
And I could understand your love for ‘maachh’ and your friend’s ordeal.:D I recently accompanied a Bengali friend to a small lake in Delhi and somehow all the fish started swimming away from her. We had a hearty laugh when we realized that the fish sensed the danger 😛
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Hahaha..really???? 😀 What a hilarious situation it might have been… 😀
But truly, Bengalis are fond of fish greatly… 😀
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I think we all adjust to our daily atmosphere – smell and all. I don’t even notice that my clothes reek of spirit & formalin, a fisherwoman does not even notice her fishy odour.
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Right…we get seasoned to those everyday smell. But a person not accustomed to it easily gets it… 🙂
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Correct. But ahem… smelly socks needs serious acclimatization.
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Smelly socks!! They are serious problems 😦
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haha, one trick is to dry inter-toe spaces thoroughly. And dust anti-fungal powder over them. Fungi love to stagnate in moist places.
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Thanks, dear doc, for the advice… ^_^
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Nice Story! 😀 I have nominated you for a quote challenge, you can check it out here :
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Thank you… 🙂
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Loved the story Maniparna! The best was your husband’s description of the smell before he knew what it was!!
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😀 😀 …. Thanks, Kalpanaa… 🙂
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Lol! socks can be awful! but under the couch? When I married my husband, one of the rules of the house was never wear the socks twice and never leave them in the shoes. And the rule has been adhered to…thanks to my darling hubby!
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Lucky you…my hubby has a penchant for keeping his stinky socks anywhere and everywhere… 😦
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That was a very captivating sponsored post 😉
Smelly socks and Calcutta’s humidity — disastrous!!
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Hehe….thank you..the humidity is a real problem here…
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Stinky socks. Such an embarrassment. Poor Mr Bose!
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:-D… Thanks for dropping by… 🙂
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Haha ..This is hilarious..poor Mr Bose had to bear the smell of the socks without complaining.
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😀 😀 … it happens sometimes, na… 🙂
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It does…the poor guest has to be civil 🙂
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haha! The socks as the backdrop in the crisp narrative. Enjoyed reading it, Maniparna:)
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Thanks, Vishal… 😀
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Oh dear, Mani! It is somehow hillarious, although at that moment you must have felt so embarassed about the smell. I know what you mean using all the incense in strategic way. My parents used to do that too, and they love to eat fish. So, my grandma usually would cut fish outside the house and cook using firewood at the back house rather than inside. That is at my homeland in Malaysia.
But here in Europe, the problem is in winter season, most windows and doors are closed. So all kind of smells are quite intense than in summer. Especially the kids room – their bedsheets must be change every 2 days because they tend to sweat more and their body odour are really strong. LOL
But stinking socks! Phewww … that is really something, eh? hehehehe …
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Oh! It did sound exciting! To cook using firewood… 😀
You’re right, actually facing and fighting this problem of odour is a part of our life. We do it without paying much attention to it. Here, in India…monsoon actually becomes quite smelly..with faint or no sunshine for days…
Thanks so much dear for sharing your experiences ..it was a nice read…loved your comment… ❤ 🙂
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lol…. Even Keralities are fish lovers 😀 Enjoyed reading through the funny experience 🙂 Poor Mr.Bose 😛
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Yes, was talking to Teny the other day on FB…. Bengalis and Keralities have a lot of things in common…. 😀
Thanks… 🙂
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Both are near the sea, so some of the habits find similarity.
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BTW, are you on FB? ( expecting a negative answer though) 😛
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Yeah, I am on FB… Are you?
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Yep..send me the link plz … 🙂
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OK madam. I’ll mail it, 🙂
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Thanks… 🙂
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This is a comical account! Seems you were blessed with a stuffy nose so you did not fall subject to the nasty odor. Thanks for sharing.
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Yes..’blessed’ with a stuffy nose…rightly said … 😀 Thanks Tina… 🙂
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ha ha ha…loved it…socks of husbands are indeed the smelliest thing I can think of
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Yes..they are indeed… 😀
Thank you, Balaka… 🙂
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