Can You Smell a Song?
Like how Heibi reminds my mother
of her grandmother’s head and
the sound of her throaty voice croaking
with her Hidak-phu singing songs of her
yesteryears during the great war.
Like the smell of a cloud of dirty ashtray
hitting the trash in a stranger’s house
reminds me of a friend who sings
only death songs.
Like the smell of wet carpet reminds us
of our old dog howling a tune,
whose passing we haven’t mourned yet.
There is a song building up in my head.
It smells like a crisp cotton blouse
in the heat of midsummer.
It smells like Chumbrei near my window
where bats come to feast every night.
It smells like wet earth and ripe mangoes.
It sometimes smells of my father’s Nycil powder
he unfailingly puts on his feet every day.
*Heibi – a type of fruit; leaf/shoot used as an ingredient in the preparation of traditional salad (Singju) & also used in traditional shampoo (chenghi) in Manipur.
* Hidak-phu – Manipuri traditional hookah.
*Chumbrei – Peach in Manipuri.
*Nycil – A Desi household brand name of a talc company.
