Conversations in a delightful home

A little bit of fiction, a whole lot of love

“That was one of the most delightful homes I have ever been to!” exclaimed Rajesh, my colleague. He was suave and polished but notoriously finicky about visiting strangers’ homes. So it was good to hear him say he enjoyed it. Of course, he had said as much inside the house too, but he had used some unusual words.

To go back to the beginning, we visited this house at the behest of company management. I was game but not so Rajesh, and he had many arguments to support his decision. Chief among them was that it was a courtesy call and did not require our presence. But it was over-ridden and there we sat in the living room, absolutely comfortable and at ease.

Rajesh had a quizzical look on his face. I looked askance at him. Our host, the lady of the house, was fetching us some water and could not hear us. “It’s like we are in a garden,” he said as he sniffed the air. I thought so too. “…Like a bouquet of roses…,” he continued, as the lady came in with the water.

“Sure you don’t want tea or coffee or juice?” she asked as she settled into one of the chairs in the living room. We both replied in the negative. After some small talk, Rajesh suddenly declared. “It smells so wonderful in here that I am almost tempted to settle in and ask for some tea. But no, I will not have anything,” he said as the lady started to get out of her chair.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

We nodded our heads.

“The smell,” she said, smiling, “is from the aromatic candle.”

Rajesh looked flummoxed. “I thought you had a garden and the smell of roses and spices was wafting in through the window.”

“We are on the third floor with no garden.”

She laughed softly and walked out of the room, returning a few seconds later with a luscious-looking candle with its wick-burning ever so lightly.

“This is our garden,” she said as she placed the candle on the coffee table.

The fragrance was a little stronger but it was not overpowering. “Very aromatic, very tantalizing…” Rajesh said as he stared mesmerised at the burning candle.

“Is it imported?” I asked hesitantly, having seen nothing like it in India.

She chuckled and said, “No, it is very Indian and it’s from Umbr Tree. It is available all over the country and can be ordered online. And yes, you get a choice of fragrances that suit your taste.”

I was transfixed and unable to question her more but I had made a note of the brand name. Umbr Tree.

As we got up to leave, the lady said, “It was so kind of you to come; I think we’ll work well together.”

Rajesh was quick on the uptake, “With such an incredible ambience in your home, we are sure you will do wonders,” he declared. I agreed wholeheartedly,

And that is how Rajesh exclaimed, “That was one of the most delightful homes I have ever been to!” as we walked back to our car.

I nodded in agreement, already wondering how soon I could grace my home with the soul-stirring fragrance of Umbr Tree candles.