No revolutionary anger. Just confusion, and worry about how I was going to pay rent. I was having a terrible year. My grades had fallen, my heart was broken, this job — though terrible, underpaid, and alienating was the best thing that I had. I did it. You should do it too. It became my first awareness of a power structure that so nonchalantly took language, twisted it, and used it against the people it was taken from. It was my first awareness of my own brownness, my racial otherness, and my automatic exclusion from a place I had begun to call home.
All these versions of curry were equally obscure, but a curry person — my own body, myself, was the most upsetting one I had found. After that, it would happen again and again. Whiteness looked aghast at my perfect English, it looked surprised that I could hold my drink, and ultimately, it fired me from a job I desperately needed.
After the day I was told I smelled like curry, whiteness came at me in all forms — sometimes friendly, sometimes mean, sometimes annoyingly kind, but at all times reductive, ignorant, and terribly unfair.
For the next three years, I would carry this around, a deep aversion to the word curry and confusion over how to get rid of my smell. My mind would veer to the young poet in the podcast, to Zahir JanMohammed, whom I had since then met and discussed this with, and the curry-smelling South Asians everywhere in Brussels, and the rest of the world, who were being told that smelling like the foods they loved was an ugly truth.
I have experienced the same odor while in college in Canada with some Indian students but it was the first time that I felt overpowered by it. Wanting more information, I came online to read about it and found your page — thank you for explaining the issue while also sharing some comic relief. Question to you… in the event that I see this gentleman again, how do I help without getting a slap in the face?
Hey, thank for such a nice comment and sharing your story. I mean no insult, just help. Anybody who gets mad at that will at least remember and if they tried to hit you take them to the Amsterdam police!
Deodorant is actually not the real solution. Find the cure, not just resort to deodorant. But you also have body hair, spices, diet, climate, fashion and soaps that all play a part. Actually I think that they smell due to their diet. We are what we eat. Tumeric is quite pungent, as many other Indian spices. If you use them regularly, it will inevitably affect your odor. What should we use in your opinion?
The second time I met him, I realized he smells bad, but I ignored it for the sake of being polite. After some time my sense went numb, we then watched Netflix and cuddled for a few hours at his place. In bed I could smell him, but I thought it was my imagination because I just saw him. The smell was so vivid, it was awful. I wonder how to tell him because I really like his personality.
I dont have his email or any friend I can perform the fake deodorant dialogue with. Than ask him which brand he wears. Hi Sanjay, Thank you for this article. I live in an area with a huge Indian population, and my family is actually the only caucasian family in our community.
We love it. All of the families look out for each other, and they trust us with their kids, just as we trust them with ours. My daughter eats food at her friends houses too. It smells sour. Also, when her friends come to our house, sometimes they smell very bad. Some more than others.
And not all the time. These are all 7 year old girls. Most Indian houses have strong smells linger throughout the day, which can be alarming to some. Many South Indian Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad also put oil in their hair in the morning coconut usually which also has a unique smell.
Nevertheless the point is, its racist to say all Indians or any particular race stinks. I am Indian and married to European. I never found in my or my husbands family or friends saying that one of us smell better or worse. They are toxic and have been related with diseases such as cancers. And even doctors would agree that unless you sweat a lot, even having a shower on alternate day is healthier. Depends on where you meet Indians also matter.
In India, people sweat a lot due to hot weather and hard work most of them do, Every race will smell the same in such condition. So, if you see an Indian approaching you, the best you can do is practice meditation and stop your brain from creating false signals of stink. If you are able to do so, most of your complain will go away. Trust me, if they have a healthy hygiene, using deodorants will only do worse for them.
Its backed up by science. Inform yourself with facts rather than seeking for approval on online communities. It would be helpful if you included links with the claims. Like many others, I stumbled on this post by looking in Google for answers about Indian people with pungent body odor. I live in The Netherlands and I have a colleague from India. It used to be just fine, but lately I really find the odor a nuisance.
And apparently it is. And they are important for the human immune system to function. However, under certain influences some bacteria will proliferate or die off. Heat, moist, oxygen and surface material are all affecting the livelihood of these bacteria.
Some of these bacteria come directly from the mother at birth. And this is where I think the investigation should start. What type of bacteria is dominant with the mother of babies from Indian origin? It could be that diet influences the atmosphere of the armpits to let certain odor creating bacteria proliferate better than other less smelly bacteria.
For example, polyester clothing is very bad. This is why the moment your polyester shirt is on in the gym, it starts to smell really quickly. The bacteria from the last time are still in your shirt. We wash on 30 to 40 degrees nowadays, temperatures at which bacteria will not die easily. Some of them even like this warmth.
Want a basic easy, cheap and natural deodorant? Take baking soda and some essential oil any you prefer. You can premix it, or do it every day in the routine: teaspoon baking soda, 3 drops of essential oils on top of the powder, few drops of water. Spread on the palm of your hands and rub it on the armpits. Depending on the circumstances, this can even last a few days. Premixing it with coconut oil will even be better in the routine since it will be very easy to apply.
Unfortunately many people get defensive or shout racism when I discuss this topic but a great thoughtful writeup like this should hopefully ease the tension. Thanks kindly. I find the over use of perfumes and scents by some cultures to be personally intolerable. When the cologne sticks to the insides of my nose I get really frustrated. Companies are not required to list ingredients and one common one, used to extend the scent-life if you will of products is, believe it or not, formaldehyde.
Body Odor has a bacterial component. Just take regular baths, and shower after after sweating all day, with germicidal soap.
Thanks for the great article. A gas station employees BO was getting trapped inside my mask today. It was awful. I believe the BO ,besides being emitted ,also stays stuck in certain cloths. Like if there is BO in my husbands shirt, and I wash it not very well, so the smell lingers in the armpits, than heater dry it.
Game over for that shirt. The smell has now set and it will be hell to get it out…. I have a hippie friend whose the same.
Her cloths are literally baked with BO. Nothing like everybody knowing you entered a room by your smell.
While people were not imposed to use BO, please do not suppress us with pungent odour as well. To make the matters worse, Houston is very hot and humid most of the year and the perspiration from our body adds to the odor problem further. So, please be considerate to others beginning today. Remember you are the ambassador of your country and do not want people to remember you as the one having bad odor. The professor who wrote letter has not been named publicly.
But the email itself has attracted attention, including that of the local news station, Click2Houston. Some students have commented that publicly the letter is appropriate.
But others have said they believe the note is racist and offensive due to the inclusion of certain cultural groups. And anyone who has ever visited a campus knows that college and university students in general aren't known for terrific hygiene.
Beyond that, she said, actual data suggest that most Americans do not shower twice a day others have said the same in discussions about the email on social media.
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