MARGINS:The meaning of Mother's Day

Memory is an interesting phenomenon. And how memory is ignited can be intriguing.

Memory and senses often work in parallel. Take the sense of smell, for example. It has a strong influence on what kind of memory is stirred up in the brain. And sometimes, that same memory can even have physical consequences.

As we breathe in odors, the air enters through our nostrils. After passing through the nasal cavity, the air passes through a thick layer of mucous to the olfactory bulb. There, the smells are recognized because each smell molecule fits into a nerve cell like a lock and key. Then the cells send signals along our olfactory nerve to the brain. At the brain, they are interpreted as those sweet-smelling flowers or that moldy cheese that may be connected to a particular memory.

I am not referring to the obvious and petty stuff, such as the aura of flowers reminding us of a garden, or the smell of popcorn reminding us of a movie theater.

I am thinking of the more subtle and abstract matters; the type of indirect and automatic associations I make when I smell, for instance, freshly cut grass or even chlorine.

Those two particular smells give me similar sensations rooted in my adolescence.

The smell of freshly cut grass brings back a certain type of a rush and anxiety I used to experience right before the start of a soccer match for my high school. And the smell of chlorine, gives me a positive angst I suffered all day before participating in a high school swim meet right after school.

It may sound random, but the smell of leather can be a source of happiness for me as well. Again, it's not a direct relationship such as the smell of Prada leather stimulating joy in some, while Gucci suede causing unparalleled bliss in others.

My associations are rather oblique.

As my father owned a leather tannery (a factory where raw hide is processed into the smooth leather used in shoes and leather purses through various chemicals and color dyes) for most of his life, the aura of leather reminds me of him.

This may sound odd, but whether I am sitting in a brand new luxury German sedan or I am wrapped in a soft and delicate suede jacket, the sweet smell of leather can occasionally bring up visions of dad.

Recently, yet another memory burst affected me as I was taking a short walk to the office. As I walked past a home garden exuding an aura of wild jasmines, a domino effect of events began to unravel in my mind.