On Monday, the 17th of March, we took a cab to go to Chanakyapuri for a meeting. Since this was the only meeting that we had in Delhi, we decided to take a BluSmart car and hired one for four hours.
The cab reached our place an hour ahead of schedule and that was fine because we left a few minutes early. The morning traffic is crazy and we don’t like reaching late. This time we reached almost a half hour early for our meeting.
As soon as the cab door opened, I knew I will end up with a headache because the smell of leatherette combined with body odour never works for me. I refuse to take an Uber or Ola precisely for this reason. India is a warm country and cabbies somehow don’t think they need to take a shower every day, whereas preferably they should shower a couple of times. Am fine if someone doesn’t want to spend on deodorants – they aren’t exactly inexpensive and many of the deodorants are anti-perspirants which is an absolute no-no.
My parents never used deodorants but they never smell bad. My mother-in-law would take bath three times a day, especially in summers. She lived in Chennai, which is a humid place besides being hot. But she would always be fresh, even if she had fever or was unwell, the bathing program wouldn’t stop.
Why can’t the cab companies insist on the drivers wearing a freshly washed shirt and pant every day and they shouldn’t be allowed to drive without taking a shower !!!! Smelly cabs are a huge turn off and spraying car fresheners is not the solution. Most fresheners are a cocktail of chemicals and many customers may have allergies. Well, I sneeze as soon as I see a car freshener.
For a long time, BluSmart had great smelling cars – the driver will be nicely turned out, the cars were brand new and they would be clean. Even now, their cars are clean, but they are smelly. We always hire our favourite taxi person – Dilip Singh who runs Urvashi Travels in Gurgaon. His cars are clean, his drivers are well turned out and well behaved. He is a friend now and several times, he comes himself when we book a trip with him. This time we didnt take his cab thinking, it’s just a point to point trip with no stops in between. A smelly mistake :):).
Sure enough I ended up with a headache despite having my favourite perfume stick that I kept smelling through out the trip. Body odour is another reason why we don’t take the metro in summers. Its unbearable….
Fellow Indians – take a shower everyday !!!!!! and please wash your clothes everyday. Even if you have just a couple of pairs of clothes, wash and wear them. All those in customer facing jobs, it’s important to smell fresh – it’s a huge turn off if you are sweaty or have bad breath. No one needs to spend money on perfumes and deodorants – you just need washed clothes and a shower. For bad breath, eat Saunf or Elaichi as you fix the real reason behind the bad breath.
Don’t know if Times of India was reading my mind, because the very next day, they printed this cartoon…..
Customers – be demanding. Refuse to get into dirty smelly cabs. That’s the only way customer service will change. Teach your maids, drivers etc about hygiene and keeping themselves clean. Again, please don’t insist on deodorants and mouth fresheners, just a simple bath, talcum powder and Saunf (fennel seeds) will do.
Tips on preventing Body Odour
- Shower daily – twice in summers.
- Use Potassium Alum (phitkari in Hindi) slabs in your armpits. They work as a deodorant. Just wet a slab and rub it on your armpits. They can be used as an aftershave too. They are inexpensive and easily available.
- Change your socks and undergarments EVERY SINGLE DAY.
- Wear a washed shirt everyday.
- DO NOT wear polyester clothes in India – Cotton is preferable as it can breathe.
Tips on preventing Bad Breath
- Brush regularly. Preferably twice.
- Rinse your mouth after every meal
- Chew Saunf or Elaichi (cardamom) or a peppermint candy. You can chew on breath mints or chewing gum too … but am trying to suggest inexpensive, non-plastic-wrapped solutions.
- If you eat onions or garlic use a dash of lime juice to reduce the smell.
Here’s to a sweet smelling Nation 🙂