I live in an apartment complex with a lot of Indian residents. Last night I was walking by one apartment where an Indian resident was walking out when that familiar smell of cumin assaulted my senses (I like cumin ok, but not a huge fan of the smell). I was 5 - 6 feet away from the door and I smelled it the instant she opened the door.
As I walked away, I found myself thinking the following thoughts:
- How can their homes/apartments smell so strongly of that stuff?
- How does it travel to every room (I had an Indian neighbor growing up, and they had a massive house that smelled the same in every room, no matter how far from the kitchen it was)?
- Do Indian people put cumin in EVERY DISH? If I make something with cumin for dinner, the smell is gone by the morning, at least, but the smell never goes away... I'd think that getting a place to smell like that perpetually would take at least 80% of the meals made every week (for months at a time) to include it.
- Is it not cumin that's making the smell? Is there some kind of Hindu ritual that requires burning something with a strong smell to it that causes this smell? Is it just spice? I know they like spicy food, but I didn't think that meant every meal was spicy.
- Does it go away? I would think that it would take some kind of special cleaning to get the smell out of the walls (carpet in most apartments is replaced frequently anyway).
I really have no idea. Please fill me in.
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We are not going to allow bigotry or racial profiling in any way, shape or form
Anandtech Moderator
As I walked away, I found myself thinking the following thoughts:
- How can their homes/apartments smell so strongly of that stuff?
- How does it travel to every room (I had an Indian neighbor growing up, and they had a massive house that smelled the same in every room, no matter how far from the kitchen it was)?
- Do Indian people put cumin in EVERY DISH? If I make something with cumin for dinner, the smell is gone by the morning, at least, but the smell never goes away... I'd think that getting a place to smell like that perpetually would take at least 80% of the meals made every week (for months at a time) to include it.
- Is it not cumin that's making the smell? Is there some kind of Hindu ritual that requires burning something with a strong smell to it that causes this smell? Is it just spice? I know they like spicy food, but I didn't think that meant every meal was spicy.
- Does it go away? I would think that it would take some kind of special cleaning to get the smell out of the walls (carpet in most apartments is replaced frequently anyway).
I really have no idea. Please fill me in.
-------------------------------------
We are not going to allow bigotry or racial profiling in any way, shape or form
Anandtech Moderator
... 
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