Inspire a Fragrance with a Tea Garden Affair..

“Perfume is the most intense form of Memory, don’t you think so?” I said, sipping and enjoying the sweet fragrance  of a perfectly made Green tea on a lazy Sunday evening. “Hmm..” Prashant, replied half sleepy. “But why do you say so?”  he added quickly with suspicious undertone common in husbands. “Wait a minute, are you planning to buy a new perfume? Which brand? You already have seven of them?”

“You can relax. I am not thinking of buying any perfume. I was just thinking, what if we could have a green tea fragrance as an air freshener for home.” I said.

“Baby don’t you think you are going crazy over green tea. I wouldn’t wonder if you want Green tea aroma in car also?” Prashant quipped. “Crazy? Then I guess you would call most Japanese also crazy like me. But seriously don’t you feel its scent is so light and refreshing.” I said passing a cup of tea to him.

“No I’m not really convinced for Green Tea aroma as an air freshener.” He replied looking undecided. “Well then look at this” I pointed at photographs of our Dharamshala trip last year. We started browsing the lovely pictures and refreshed some incidents of the great time we had there in the scenic landscapes and perfect weather unlike Delhi.

After few photos I paused at the picture of tea garden we had visited there. I asked him “Do you remember the walk we had before finally reaching the tea gardens?” “Oh yes that was one hell of a walk. Every time we asked somebody where the tea gardens were they would reply just a five minutes from here. I think that day our morning walk towards tea garden lasted for more than 45 mins. and you were struggling for breath”  he replied bursting into a laughter.

“Agreed that I was out of breath but the walk was surely one to remember. The picturesque greenery along the whole trail was magnificent. Wasn’t it?” I said and remembered my experience of this  visit.

Tea is terrace farmed in Dharamshala and sight of it is overwhelming. But I still remember the very light but distinct aroma that was omnipresent there. We took regular breaks, relaxed on benches placed at the side of the road and again started walking. Meanwhile I plucked some tea leaves and also collected few conifer tree fruits for decorating at home.

When we reached Dharamshala Tea Company, the feeling of being present inside a tea garden was spectacular. After this we saw tea manufacturing process in their factory. There are different procedures followed section wise for making different kind of export quality tea like Olong tea, Green tea, Normal black tea etc. Out of these all sections the most fragrant one was the Green tea section that had the most invigorating aroma. I remembered how I longed to pack this fresh fragrance and bring back with me home.

Seeing a tea garden for the first time in my life I was pretty excited and this excitement brought a smile on my face. “Oh, hello! where are you lost? Dreaming about Green tea?” This teasing remark of Prashant pulled me out of my memory land.

“I was thinking about our Dharamshala trip.” I retorted. “Hey chill! I was just joking but I still feel you cannot #inpireafragrance with Green tea aroma to be made in India. It won’t be popular.” He said.

This is when I left the debate and headed for cooking dinner. After dinner I reflected about our discussion in the evening and searched on internet for some validation of my choice. What I got was one hell of a validation that would make me win this debate in straight sets.

I yelled “Prashant! Come here see what I got  Where are you? Come fast?”  Irritated to leave football match on TV, he came running. “What is it tell me fast? Last 10 minutes of the match are remaining.” He said in a rush.

“In the evening you were telling me ‘crazy’ &  what not for wishing a green tea aroma as air freshener. Just check this out. You know the first perfume made by the famous brand, Bvlgari, had the main ingredient as Green Tea. Apart from this Elizabeth Arden, another iconic cosmetic & perfume brand, has a whole series of perfumes dedicated to Green Tea aroma. Green tea is also used in aroma therapy for relaxation. So as a car freshener too it will be of great benefit.” I said confidently pointing at the fact sheet available on the internet.

“Hmm..” he said carefully scrutinizing whether I was telling the truth or was i trying to fool him.”So now what do you have to say, Mr. Prashantapedia? Do you agree with me that Green tea’s scent is indeed refreshing and can be a best seller as an home & car air freshener?”

“Yes my queen, I bow before thee and accept my defeat.”  He said zooming back to the living room and the foot ball match on TV. Seeing him leave the room I smiled and was proud of my choices – Him & the Green Tea fragrance.

P.S. This blog post is for a contest named #InspireAFragrance organised by Godrej Aer in association with Indiblogger. This thought provoking contest made me pen down the key takeaway from my trip to Dharamshala.