Thursday, May 03, 2012

My Life 365 - Stinky, Smelly, NO DURIAN NO

This post might not be pretty but then let's grin and bear through it and maybe we might have great notes to exchange at the end of it.

So I begin with a question - What is an odour that stays with you long after you can smell it no more? The smell of sweat in a packed train? Of damp clothes in monsoons that just refuse to get off dried clothes too? The unbearably nauseating smell of stinky sock after a day spent within a tight shoe? Ok, no more no more..but imagine, if I tell you I have smelt a fruit that's all this and more?? A fruit that looks from the distance like our very own humble jackfruit ( come to think of it, the smell of ripe jackfruit too is a strong smell in my dictionary). But go closer and it turns out to be the vilest smelling fruit on the face of the earth.

The Durian is largely found in South East Asia - the Singaporeans, Malaysians and their neighbours consider it yummy. My sister-in-law, a Singaporean girl has atleast ten photographs on her facebook profile that look like an Ode to the Durian. Each time she longs for home or goes visiting, her mom would have lovingly set aside store-bought cling-film wrapped boxes of the fruit.

 The first time I smelt it was in Singapore and I kid you not, I was sure someone standing next to me in the fruit bazaar had gone unwashed for about a month after being hit by rotten eggs. The lady at the market was perhaps used to dealing with foreigners and their absolute confusion at the smell surrounding her shop, knowing I was trying to sniff my way out of the dirty smell, she gave me a toothy smile, made a signal of clipping her nose and offered a piece of Durian to me. Unfortunately, there is little evidence of my reaction to the offering.

But if I may explain - I turned a pale shade of yellow, with my eyeballs rolled well into my lids, gasped for breath a few times and ran out of the stall and into fresh air. It took me another five seconds to realise that I had smelt the most offensive fruit that perhaps exists across the world. It took me another five seconds of sane thinking to associate the smell I'd just encountered to the smell of rotten eggs or H2S that often emanated from our chemistry lab in school.

 I am yet to decipher how the South East Asians can make themselves immune to the smell and chow down on the fruit like it is going to run out before they can have their fill. I'm told (again reliably by the sister-in-law )that it is a tastier version of the jackfruit. For someone who can only stand the jackfruit when fried as chips in coconut oil, it is hardly much of a reccomendation!

But idle curiosity the other day borne out of some free time made me google - Why does Durian Smell So Bad? I hadn't typed farther than the Durian when google promptly threw up the suggestion - 'smell so bad?' Bingo! Indeed, that was my question. And the answers made me double up with laughter - one was that 'Because it is the King of the Fruits! Don't girls like bad boys? Well....almost the same theory lol'. The answer chosen as the best however was, The smell is to hinder non-enthusiasts, so the REAL durian-heads have more to eat! The Durian is a very loyalist fruit!!'

Loyalist or no, I must admit I often smirk and shudder when I see the NO DURIAN ALLOWED sign across a number of places in Singapore and Malaysia. That includes public transportation, hotels and even cabs!! :) Do you have a Durian experience to share too??

8 comments:

  1. Agree with what you said about Durian! In fact taxi drivers do not allow it to be taken in Singapore, in their cabs:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hehehe, imagine they begin allowing it in the cabs and they probably will have only one customer the whole day, unless there is a convention of Durian lovers going on! :)

      Delete
  2. I read about this on another blog and thats the first time I heard about this fruit..I have never seen it or heard it or *thank God* smelt it :)

    I am with you on Jackfruit..the only way I can eat it is deep fried....and my in laws think I am a 'kalank' on the Tambram community :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hear you R's mom.. My distaste for the smelly jackfruit makes me an anomaly in the 'chakka-hogging' Malayali fraternity. But then the Durian makes the jackfruit smell like yummy cologne...just to drive the bloody stake through the point..:)

      Delete
  3. Heard about the fruit, but yet to smell it. But the mention of H2S bought right back the memories of the smell!

    PS: I like Jackfruit :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now Jenny, why am I not surprised that the Mangalorean adores jackfruit?? :) I, on the other hand, walk the other way when the ripe, potent smell floats anywhere near my nostrils..and then imagine, if it looks like a fruit I'm not too kicked about and smells like H2S!! :) But I'd say it is an experience...must try...

      Delete
  4. My dear Deepthy -- For me the smells I can still still recall 43 years after I could smell them no more were of my mother after she:
    1. had a bath with Mysore Sandalwood soap and wore her kimono robe;
    2. had applied Afghan Snow cream to her face, before we would leave to visit.
    Thank you, Deepthy, for picking this topic and
    stirring up memories of smells from the days gone by.
    Peace and love - Joe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awwww, you had me teary-eyed there...that's such beautiful memories there..

      Delete