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Wednesday 22 September 2021

My Seasonal Lover - #MyFriendAlexa



My plane landed around 5 AM on an October morning in 2018. I am in a new city and I have to call it home for the next few years. I was happy to finally leave Hyderabad, but not sure what to expect from this new city.

I got my luggage and came out of the airport. I knew that nobody is coming to pick me up, still hoped to see a familiar face. Mr. Anirudh Gaurav said he can’t pick me up for some reason, I forgot the reason, however, remember I was mad.

A grey, gloomy and rainy city welcomed me with not much enthusiasm. I never disliked a rainy day like this.

I booked my Uber and patiently waited outside the airport. My Uber came and I started my journey into this new city. I more I entered the city, the more I hated it. I finally reached my destination, MVP Colony. Gaurav was there to receive me, but to my surprise, what welcomed me is the Devil’s Tree, in front of the hotel.

It was like Durga Puja welcoming me outside Kolkata. I was in love.

Gaurav left for work, and I began my hunt for a new home (rented house). I roamed every lane and every street of MVP colony. And on every corner, there was a Devil’s Tree waiting to tempt me with its smell. I was trying to get some flowers from the tree and some lady told me not to, as it is poisonous.

And in my mind, the smell of the flower is my poison. I don’t know how dangerous this is for asthma patients, but this is definitely harmful to me. It makes my desires run wild. No kidding it’s called the seductive Casanova of smells.

The smell would arrive every year, during Durga Puja (September end to October), and stay till December to wish me on my birthday. I reached this new city in October and thank God it was October. Otherwise, how would I know Devil’s Tree will be waiting for me with open arms.

The smell takes me back to my teenage years. Someone would be waiting for me and I was ignorant enough to ignore him. The smell takes me to my first love, first heartbreak, and first tears of pain.

Yet, this smell is so toxic for me that I can’t simply imagine Durga Puja or winter without it.

Then the unavoidable happens, by the time winter is over, the smell leaves me like a seasonal lover. I am heartbroken and missing my love. I try my best not to embrace the last hint of the smell, as I know it will leave me high and dry.

Yet how can I not, long for it as long it’s there, it’s like the forbidden lover. He is toxic, poisonous, going to leave me to suffer for sure, yet so passionate with his love and desires.

It’s been three winters. The air, the streets, and the people feel much more familiar to me now. I have made it a home, my Vizag.  

Yet on those lonely nights on my balcony, I long for my poison. I am madly in love with this toxic flower called Chatim Ful (in Bengali) and last but not least, a poisonous someone. It’s so difficult to reason with my feelings. What I know for sure is I want him. And he can't be mine, ever. A pain I endure with all my affection. 




I am taking my blog to the next level with Blogchatter’s #MyFriendAlexa.


51 comments:

  1. This is something really enduring. We often search people in time, fragrance etc. but they are always safe in our memories.

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  2. Amazing use of metaphor of the flower. The narration was beautiful and painted a beautiful picture.
    Deepika Sharma

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  3. What an evocative post! You brought alive the fragrance of the flower, linking it up to your emotions. Kudos!

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  4. So beautifully penned down...I must say the metaphor you have used is really good. Keep writing and keep shining!!!!

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    1. Thanks a lot. You kind word means so much.

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  5. Such a deep and beautifully penned write up. loved reading it.

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  6. Thats a perfectly penned article..lover reading it

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  7. I love the articles celebrating past. Loved it!

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  8. These kinda fragrances stay with us forever. I remember such fragrances from my childhood.

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  9. Sometime you associate yourself with one fragrance! this is so true!

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  10. Wow, that is a beautiful post.Actually I went back in time, when I was looking for a home at Kolkata years back.

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  11. the only smell that reminds me of durga puja is Parijat. Its just sweet and addicting

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  12. This was an interesting read. I had to search Google to know more about the Devil's tree though. But, I really liked how you used the flower to relate to emotions.

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  13. Amazing story! I feel it is more of a experience or you have just webbed it really well.

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  14. The fragrance of flower that lures a person but poisonous, good to know about it and your experience around it.

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  15. Beautifully written. I am also one big admirer of this flower. I have even written a Hindi poem on this. Not sure if you can read hindi posts but I am dropping the link here. The poem will describe my feelings for this magical flower: t.ly/LtQ9

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    1. Thank you, it means a lot to me. I cant read Hindi, but I will ask my hubby to read it.

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  16. Wow this is a unique experience with flowers. I smell those Rath ki ranis every night while on my walk. Wonder what memories ill get from them.. hehehe

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  17. "Yet in those lonely nights in my balcony, I long for my poison. I am madly in love with this toxic flower called Chatim Ful (in Bengali) and last but not least, a poisonous someone. It’s so difficult to reason with my feelings. What I know for sure is I want him. And he can't be mine, ever. A pain I endure with all my affection. "
    The metaphor of the flower, the feelings it arouses, all so beautifully worded

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  18. Beautifully penned. Memories are forever.

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  19. Thanks for sharing such a beautiful memory. I had never heard of this particular flower before. Reading your post assures that I won't forget about it.
    Mayuri/Sirimiri

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  20. I love the smell of nature and flowers. Such an evocative read this one!

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  21. I never knew Chaatim was called the Devils Tree. I really liked reading through your trip down memory lane. Your writing style is engaging. Keep writing.

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  22. Loved reading through your experience and relating to the devil's tree. You hve put it in a nice way and the next time I am in Kolkata I will check for it.. Make some memories before I am back

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