The Best Perfume in the World!

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By Neeraj Shinde
Bangalore, India
http://shindeneeraj.blogspot.com/


It was the first time I was at the chemist's buying a perfume. Never in my worst nightmare I ever thought that I would be buying a perfume this way. He asked me for the name - cologne, musk, jasmine and the list went on and on. I had no experience in buying a perfume and neither was I aware of the numerous fragrances and the brands that sold them. A good perfume, for me was merely something that felt good to my nose. I would never have bought a perfume for myself in my life. But today, here I was wanting to buy something that I never ever wanted.

I gave him a blunt look, almost speechless. Within no time I saw a varied range of perfumes displayed before me.

"Try this Sir! It's the latest one from Gucci", the chemist said as he opened the nozzle of one of the bottles. His face was enlightened as he brought the bottle before my nose.

"I don't want it", I said in anguish. His face fell as he noticed my reaction to his small professional gesture. May be I need something else, he thought.

"No problem Sir! I can show you something better than this", he said trying to regain his enthusiasm. He kept the bottle aside and got some other perfume for me.

"This one's from Korea!", he said looking into my eyes. I looked at the bottle uninterestingly as he again brought the bottle before my nose.

"Will you stop that!", I said in a hoarse voice as if I never wanted to buy the thing he was showing to me. He kept the bottle aside as he learnt my disinterest in the stuff he was showing.

"What's your favourite? Please tell me what exactly you are looking for", said the gentleman.

I am so unsure of what I wanted, I thought.

"Gimme anything", I said trying to evade the situation. The chemist gave me a bizarre look unable to understand what I really wanted.

Almost any fragrance could hide the odour of a dead body, I thought as I could recollect the wrinkled face of grandma lying at home, lifeless. But I really didn't know of what exactly could have solved the purpose. Or probably I was so unsure of what I was really trying to hide behind the fragrance of the perfume I was about to buy. Did I really needed a perfume to hide the odour of grandma's lifeless body - the touch of which was at times my sole means of happiness, the fragrance of which was once the best perfume in the world.

I wondered if I could get a better perfume to hide her odour.

I was in no mood to explain the chemist why I needed a perfume. Instead I bought a bottle at random ignoring all his efforts of excellent salesmanship.

"No Problem Sir! But I feel that you could get a better one in almost the same price!", he said as I left the shop.

"Yes! But a dead body doesn't have preferences!", I replied as I saw the chemist understanding the context better.

Though I covered grandma's cadaver with an artificial perfume that day, but her odour still remains the best fragrance in the world even today.

1 comment :

  1. that was really very touching.......u write well....

    i m nikhil's friend....amit

    ReplyDelete