I wouldn’t realise if there was a gas leak!

So, about a month back, I contracted the covid-19 virus, but thankfully it wasn’t severe and I’ve recovered. Though I did face the common symptoms including the loss of smell. To be honest I am not a very keen observer of the smells around me on a daily basis unless it’s a very pungent smell or an extremely fragrant perfume. And this is partly the fault of my grade 11 and 12 Chemistry teacher.

Every Chemistry student in an Indian school knows that half the reagents in the Chemistry lab are just glass bottles filled with tap water. Moreover, half these students only are responsible for replacing reagents with tap water. The point being, one never really does expect the accurate result from any chemistry experiment. Specially in 11^th and 12^th. We learn what the result of a particular experiment is in theory and accordingly alter the practical experiment to get the desired result. I am not dissing on the Indian education system (though I should), I am just stating facts.

Skip to a particular chemistry practical class, my entire class carried out the experiment and were anxious to leave. Turns out, my teacher was in a good mood so he went about one work station to the next examining his talented, inquisitive, young chemistry prodigies (read as disinterested, buffoons and mentally burnt-out by-products of the Indian education system). He stops at my station and have the following exchange:

Sir: (joyfully) Swasti, have you completed today’s experiment?

Me: (partial truth) Yes sir.

Sir: Were you able to take down all the observations?

Me: (partial truth) Yes sir.

Sir: Did you recognise the Chlorine gas that was evolved?

I was doing so well, until then. But at this question I faltered and it took me a moment to say yes sir and that was enough for him to take the test tube, (in which supposedly the experiment had been carried out) and shoved it right up my face, making sure the distance between my nostrils and the opening of the test tube was so little that the evolved chlorine gas went right up my nostril. Now, just a quick reminder, chlorine gas has an extremely pungent and irritating odour. And it is not me who classifies the gas as such. The entire chemistry academia has agreed on the words, ‘pungent’ and ‘irritating’ to describe the odour of chlorine gas.

Sir: Smell, smell. Recognise the smell? See, this is Chlorine. Notice its unique smell. Now your experiment is complete.

He remained oblivious to the damage this wrecked in my nostrils. It’s like it happened in slow motion. The particles of the gas went up my nose and I could feel the particles settle there one by one. The remainder of the day I kept getting the heebie-jeebies because of the recurring smell and the constant irritation. It took a lot of sneezes to get it out of my system. A luxury I wouldn’t have been afforded in the current pandemic state.

This might be a defining part of my trust issues. Now as soon as someone shoves something in my face saying, “Smell this!”, I immediately hold my breath. Be it a delicious dish or a good perfume. Then, very suspiciously I take a small wiff, making sure I don’t inhale too much of whatever it is.

Anyway, hoping this distracted you from the negative covid related news everywhere even for a couple of minutes.

Stay safe. Smell you later!