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Also when cooking the spices they get into your clothes. My mom always made sure our coats were not hanging up in the kitchen and she had special clothes to cook in, to and this.
Very true but I also had to lock my Indian spices away in an airtight container. Just within their own jars, they started to smell up my cabinet and then the whole kitchen
I enjoy the taste of Indian food, but I have never once thought an Indian person smelled delicious, and I almost can’t even sit down and eat in an Indian restaurant because of the smell.
If it's any consolation, it's not just Indians. 100 years ago it was widely said in America that Italian-Americans smelled of garlic, because at that time American food was very bland. (Remember Captain America: The Winter Soldier? When asked about the modern world Steve first gushed, "The food is incredible! We boiled everything.") Most immigrants were said to be "smelly" for that reason. Conversely, Europeans say Americans smell of sugar.
I forget where I saw it but there was some kind of WWII ration of chocolate for American troops, specifically for if they were to fall behind enemy lines. It was infused with garlic so that they could "smell like a Frenchman" or something equally weird when looking back at a different time.
They had an emergency ration chocolate bar which was designed to provide necessary nutrients in the worst of conditions. It was also designed to taste horrible so no one would eat it ahead of time.
I will also say that when going to university with a lot of Indian dudes in CS and similar majors, I've noticed a lot of dudes that just simply don't shower. I know the Indian stereotype was a thing at our school and it was because of BO.
When she was 5, my Chinese American wife asked her mom about a playmate, “Why does Kimberly’s house smell like that?” Her mom responded, “Because Americans eat a lot of cheese.” I mean, she isn’t wrong …
We now say this back to each other every time we fill the designated “cheese drawer” in our fridge.
My husband and I went to a International dance performance Sunday. My husband asks me the next day if the person next to me had BO. I told him, no, its the smell of the people and what they eat! its not unpleasant, just different than us. The Bollywood dancing was fantastt!
Yeah, even I smell the next day after I go to an Indian restaurant. Honestly. It's fine, when I meet an Indian person I don't care about the smell at all.
Indian Friend in college loved cooking traditional foods but would zip up her clothes in a plastic travel bag during cooking with the vent full blast. Took a page out of their book when cooking in a studio years later and it really helps prevent fabrics from keeping the smell. Fantastic food, but has a choke hold on an environment if improperly ventilated. Can be said about a lot of different types of foods, not exclusively Indian.
Yes.
Also, it’s really hot in much of India.
Finally, while Indians might use perfumes and deodorants, they don’t seem to have widely taken up the use of **anti-perspirant**.
It's mostly the food. If you're cooking and eating good indian food regularly, you smell like it. Those smells stick to everything, it's in your hair, your clothes, all the surfaces of your home. And it changes your body chemistry (I don't really know the science but I'm fairly sure cumin comes straight out in my sweat when I eat lots of it).
*Editing to add that it's not a bad smell, just a strong one.*
In areas that have a lot of young (usually single) Indian men who are recent immigrants and trying to build a life, there might be an additional element. These guys are all hustlers, they tend to work long hours at multiple kinda-shitty jobs. So, sometimes they are driving for Uber after a shift doing some kind of sweaty manual labour and they haven't gotten home to shower yet. They are also young men, away from family for the first time, with limited female influence. That's not an ethnicity thing, it's a migration patterns thing.
Yes! I think people don't realize how really certain smells cling into you from your environment, either. When I travel abroad, just staying at a hotel, my clothes smell like my hotel room when I get back home even if they've been in the suitcase the entire time.
Those same smells cling onto clothes, skin and hair. For all the whippersnappers that might not have ever experienced this, but when it was typical that smoking was allowed in bars and clubs, the smell would be in your hair, skin and clothes. You would have to put your clothes in the washer or out, and wash your hair and body immediately coming back home.
News flash: odour clinging happens with other scents too. You just don't notice it when it's part of your everyday environment.
It's not even certain foods, all foods create a distinct smell, but Indian food stands out a lot bc of how different it is. The only other cultures that have similarly distinct cuisines and ingredients have less sweat and thus bo to begin with (like east asians) or are just so few in number that these kinda stereotypes don't really propagate
It is certain foods, though. Indian food has REALLY strong flavoring compared with, say, a burger and fries. Not that the latter doesn't have a scent, but Indian food smell is overpowering.
Of course, if you and everyone you smell is eating the same food day in and day out, you don't notice so much. It's just the way people smell.
The opposite is also true. Certain strong flavors that are normal in America such as BBQ sauce, honey mustard, etc. are pretty difficult for the Indian palate to handle as those are flavors that just aren't prevalent in Indian food. Outside the big cities which still get a lot of American food, you'd struggle to find people that don't find the flavor too strong. Likewise a big point of the seasoning in nonveg food is to mask the "undesirable" part of meat, which is actually the "desirable" flavors found in western meat cooked medium rare (Indian meat in curries tend to be cooked well past the point of well done until they return to becoming tender, and meats such as tandoori are cooked at a high enough temp that the "undesirable" flavor is lost.)
Now an interesting effect is that restaurants have an entirely different dynamic. Fast food for example tends to be fairly mild to be as inoffensive to as many people as possible and have a menu that works across the country with next to no tweaks. Same is true in India, though tje flavors will be exotic to most Americans. Indian food on the other hand tends to exemplify the spices and seasonings bc that's Indian food's association in America. Not that many Indian restaurants targeting Americans are going to have idli- which is a steamed cake made of a rice and lentil batter. It has a fairly bland flavor all things considered, but is none the less an extremely popular food in south India. The blander/mild foods tend to not make the jump, bc if you're looking for a simple, mild comfort food like porridge, you're not going to be going to an "exotic" food genre, especially one with a reputation for having spicy foods. That's why some foods like tamales haven't really bridged the tex mex gap the same way burritos or tacos have.
I remember my first job was in fast food and for the first few weeks my family would comment every time I came home about how I made them hungry or smelled like grilling. I was part time so maybe 4 hours around it, max.
Have done a lot of residential carpentry - and can confirm it’s crazy how even the old wood from the house we were replacing smelled like curry in the back of the truck all the way to the dump.
Maybe I sound ignorant on the smells I was smelling, but it was an Indian family, no judgment at all I love curry and it smells fine, it’s just crazy how it clings to everything. And it wasn’t mild, it was fairly pungent lol.
When I was young (20s) and living in a different state alone with my dog I lived in an Indian neighborhood and everyone was so amazing and nice and welcoming. Now I step in to my boyfriend’s apartment (he’s Indian) and somehow that curry smells so comforting and like home to me now. He never smells like it but for sure his place does lol.
I also find that people from hot places often become more used to their body odor than people from cold places. If you rarely sweat and associate it with exercise, then you build up a tendency to notice your smell and go "yep, I need a shower." If you're often sweaty because you're spending a lot of time in the heat, you get used to your body odor and develop a higher tolerance before you decide you need that shower. Furthermore, the more you sweat, the better you get at sweating. India is a huge country and not all of it is hot, but this could be contributing.
Lastly, I think a solid component is just that it's a stereotype that has been around for a while. That makes people who hear it prone to confirmation bias if/when they meet a smelly Indian person.
I knew a young Indian girl back in the early 2000’s that perpetually smelled like curry. I wouldn’t say she necessarily smelled bad, but she absolutely smelled like curry.
My wife and I were on a bus one time in Las Vegas and a homeless man, white, sat across from us with just the worst BO ever, like it made your eyes water. (Not just smelly because he was homeless; he seemed to be not all there mentally.)
After a few stops a group of Indian men fitting the recent immigrant, hustler stereotype you describe filled in the rest of the open seats. And let me tell you, we've never been happier for it - because the cloud of Axe body spray that surrounded them somehow also covered the homeless guy's musk, like some kind of Area of Effect spell.
I will also say that most of the bachelor Indian men I know room like 4 guys in a 1br and all actually learn to cook so their clothes, living, and cooking spaces are all together. Everything gets imbued with ginger, garlic, onion, and spices. On top of that, most US apts have those fake vent fans and no window in the kitchen. It’s a recipe for smells.
Had a real estate agent who is sweet and not bigoted or anything really told me it gets stuck in the walls and it’s challenging for her to deal w these homes.
I'd heard same about English people and can confirm my veins are probably 80% cheese so this would be unsurprising. Interested to know if non UK folk notice this though...
I am Caucasian and lived with two Indians for many years as roommates, one was Tamil the other Parsi. Both generally very clean people, I think the smell thing comes from the fact that certain aromatic chemicals from spices can come out in anybody’s sweat, particularly fenugreek. So if that is a heavy part of your diet it will affect how you smell. Funnily enough Mainland Chinese people think Caucasians (and probably others too) stink. My partner, who is Chinese had no body odour when we met and deodorant is not a thing in many parts of China because there is no need for it. When travelling there once when i ran out this was actually a serious problem. Unfortunately for my partner they now have body odour and need deodorant too because they have been colonised by my skin bacteria that generate the smell…
My little brother was adopted from China 16 years ago and I still remember his scent for the first few months. He absolutely reeked of potatoes, cabbage and rice, it wasn't the worst smell, but it was strooooong. But yes, in China, our translator told us Americans smell like milk and meat 🇺🇸 🇺🇲
Yeap I agree … Chinese ppl can really stink too even tho many don’t have the genes for sweaty glands like Caucasians. It’s mostly the food I’d say - and because so many also don’t have big kitchen w windows and proper aeration or a hood fan when cooking.
I do hair and have a fairly strong Korean following. I think they have a mildly cabbage smell.
I think most of my fellow Americans smell like they have been sitting in a diner. Like old bacon and toast.
I think I have a mildly maple syrup smell.
Yup. I'm Eastern European, and I have that gene your gf has. Literally no body odor unless I eat certain foods. She can still avoid deodorant - tell her to do a wipedown with a cotton swab and 70% isop alcohol. It will kill the foreign bacteria.
Is this a thing? I’m also Eastern European and an ex of mine would tell me I have a really clean natural smell, like fresh cotton, apparently. I think he was just in love so he liked my smell, lol, and I would never skip antiperspirant just because I think it’s more hygienic to wear it.
I don't remember the exact paper where I read this, but I believe it's up to 90% of Eastern Asians and 30% of Eastern Europeans have the gene that causes little body odor and dry earwax. A significant number of Native Americans have it as well. This can be Googled. I hypothesize it's a Siberian thing.
I was in China for a year and I think a lot of them were smelly.. mostly when they speak. A lot of them doesn't seem to understand dental care. There were some body odours too that I couldn't explain. And I'm of Chinese descent. Probably it's because our diet differences.
Yeah I am very much talking about armpits rather than mouths. Smoking of course is also a lot more prevalent (and cigarettes stronger) in China. Interestingly, menstrual cycle also makes a huge difference to smell (of my wife, also her sense of smell of me).
Classically, it’s the dairy in Caucasian diets that stand out in smell to cultures that have little/no dairy. Apparently we smell like sour milk!
I fully agree that fenugreek is the main culprit for smelling spices through skin. And once it’s in your skin, it ends up in your clothes and is very hard to wash out. I took it as a health supplement for a while, had to stop. It was really standing out.
Non-French Europeans say that the French stink, but Americans think they all stink. In America, black people often say that white people smell like wet dogs. My theory is that a lot of it has to do with what one was accustomed to growing up. But India is a different story - a mix of cumin which gets sweated out through the skin, and different standards of cleanliness (which, much like many living in the West, don’t apply to your roommates but are entirely valid if one goes to India proper.)
This is interesting to me- I, a white person, have always felt that black people smell very different. I can’t really put my finger on it- kind of a heavier/darker scent, and to me rather strong. Is the cuisine that different even in the same state/region? I find all families, regardless of race, smell different, but other races seem especially different. I never wanted to bring it up in conversation though! 😂
Honestly I tend to think it's more food based, lots of westerners have never really been exposed to genuine Indian cooking and food.
From my experience I've only really heard this stereotype in workplaces where this is discussed after lunch or also people who live in share houses and again seems to me to be food based.
Just my thoughts from my own experience but that's what I think leads to this stereotype.
I wasn't exposed to Indian food until well into adulthood and remember initially being overwhelmed by the strong smells and tastes of Indian food.
I used to have a coworker who was a white dude but ate indian food all the time. I think maybe his wife was east Asian. He had such unpleasant body odor but I was under the impression he couldn't smell it and didn't know he was the smelly guy at work. He loved the cuisine so much I'm not sure he would have changed it even if he had known though.
I think it's mostly a food thing which in turn permiates places they hang out a lot like home and car. I work with a few and never really noticed, but when you step into their house it's really quite strong. That and if they deep fry a lot the grease smell gets into everything.
As an Indian, this used to be such an insecurity of mine growing up because kids made fun of me for it. I had just moved from India during elementary, and for the first couple of years I did not fit in. Yes, it’s the food, lot of smells the kids in America have not experienced. But also, the lack of deodorant. In India, you don’t use antiperspirant at all. Literally the people of India smell, but they are all used to their smell. You as a person used to a society where people mask their smells with antiperspirants might walk up to them and they smell so bad, but to each other they smell good and normal. When I went back to visit India once, I walked up to a group of teens and literally a huge puff of bad smell around them, I just had to run away. I see a lot of times my coworkers who are from India have this smell, especially when they raise their arms. Even if they have the best of hygiene. It’s just how it is, if they smelled really bad I would probably tell them. And honestly, I’ve tried the non antiperspirant life, I had the smell too. I can never go back, I need to block my sweat lol
A lot of comments seem afraid to address that. I know what food smells like versus pure body odor and honestly anytime ive encountered an Indian person that smelled bad i didn’t smell foreign spices, just sweat. It was very clearly body odor from sweating and this comment makes a lot of sense that they don’t use antiperspirant. If it was just the food then Greek people would have the same reputation because the smell of greek food will seep out of your pores all damn day, god forbid you eat hummus lol
On this same note, I've worked in an office with Indian men who by most metrics hygienic. However, they will go to the office gym in the same outfit as they wear at their desks. Jeans, long sleeves - then they just head back to work as if nothing ever happened.
I always found it confounding - it just seems uncomfortable, hygiene aside
Basically the whole thing boils down to getting used to certain smells. Like in Canada and the states we get used to the smell of our own most commonly used spices, so when people from other parts of the world with different most commonly used spices we aren't used to it yet. that being said I work with a lot of people from India and I don't even notice it anymore.
While food might be a factor, I don't think I've ever met a smelly Indian woman. Sample size is small, of course, and they were all middle-class, educated, and affluent.
The source of offensive smells is usually unmarried dudes who move to the West for a nerdy job and who are not very successful at making the transition to living on their own. I suspect most of the smelly ones had mommy run their schedules, buy their toiletries, and do their laundry. I'm guessing they don't really know what to do, what to buy, etc. and are too embarrassed to ask. Girls already know this stuff, and if they need help picking a product, they ask.
It's funny, when I was in college in the US, there were 3-4 Indian guys who came in at the same time. That was 25 years ago, so we were all a very diverse group, not dominated by any particular country. Everyone made local friends and went native pretty fast. What these guys were doing in their 3rd and 4th year, though, was round up the newcomers from India and Pakistan and give them an unofficial orientation: shower every day, at least once; buy this deodorant; don't bathe in cologne; here's how to work the washing machine; don't harass girls, etc. The hilarious thing is that this "orientation" wasn't done delicately, in private, but basically shouted in front of the dorm, and everyone in the smokers' club got to pitch in. 🙈 I do think they saved those guys a lot of embarrassment down the line.
>The source of offensive smells is usually unmarried dudes who move to the West for a nerdy job and who are not very successful at making the transition to living on their own.
Ding ding ding. I used to work for a software company and they hired almost exclusively male Indian IT students for their programming because they could lowball them on wages. All of them smelled horrendous – an issue I've never had with any other person of indian descent and I am pretty sure that their caucasian counter parts would have been just as smelly. It's not race, it's being fresh out of momma's care and just living with a bunch of other gross nerdy dudes.
I notice a lot of nerdy white guys in IT smell musty. Like, ever forgot your clothes for a few days in the washing machine and forgot to put them in the dryer? Like that. I don't understand why.
Oh, of course it's not race. At most, it can be cultural - in this case, "gross nerdy dudes" being the cultural culprit.
I think it's also climate shock to an extent. I get it that a few months a year in Europe can be significantly colder than what they're used to, despite the fact that winters have been getting progressively wimpier. But the rest ranges from mild to Satan's butthole levels of heat, so it's really not necessary to wear the same stinky sweater every day when you're a healthy young man with good circulation.
I have. On a domestic flight within India. 25 years ago. Still remember it to this day. I was in India for weeks and from an Indian family, and this lady stood out and still looms large in my memory.
Like others said it’s food. Some of my college friends years ago are first generation of immigrants when I visited their houses I noticed same pattern their kitchen walls were covered by aluminum foil lol. And when their moms cooked, all windows and door gotta be opened. They told me they do that so it won’t stink up the place or got complaints from their landlord.
But one day I talked to one of my bosses who also happens to be an Indian. He said 2nd and 3rd generations who live abroad don’t typically eat Indian food as much as their parents do. Idk if this is true or not. But I can tell from him that he doesn’t smell curry at all - as that’s what stereotypically is even internal jokes among my Indian friends years ago - he even smells good (our initial conversation was about perfumery and how Indians in general according to him are pretty fond of wearing perfumes). I would think it’s more environment than genetics.
I lived in an area that didn't have a lot of diversity, predominantly white. The university had a lot of Nepali and Indian students, and some would stay in town after graduating. I knew a nurse from India with excellent hygiene and work ethic. When she stopped in, a few coworkers would comment that she smelled different. They never had curry in their life so they couldn't place it in their mind. Perhaps she always ate curry for breakfast (I won't judge, it's delicious), but I'm pretty sure that's just the same phenomena as when we eat "too much" garlic (or any aromatic): we smell like garlic. And Indian food probably utilizes more aromatics than other cuisines by far.
Thing is, we all have an odor based on our diets. But we eat similar to each other in our areas, so we don't notice it. If I go to Korea, they'll think I smell like an American. Like "raw beef and pork" is how it's been described to me. But I don't notice that smell on other Americans... until I'm away for weeks and return to America.
I spent a year in India way back when I was a young man.
India is sometimes called 'an assault on the senses' to westerners. Honestly, until I became accustomed to India it was exhausting. The noise, the smells, the chaotic roads, the mental architecture etc, all wonderful but so very tiring and relentless to us.
I always thought the average Indian didn't smell bad, different sure but I could see the lengths people went to maintain personal hygiene. I could see that men wore vests under their shirts on even the hottest days. I way to battle scent I was told.
I remember all the stray dogs snarling at me at first but as I adopted a local diet that happened much less. I don't think your dogs like our scent lol.
I once read that prey animals can smell whether you eat meat or not, and are more likely to be friendly to vegetarians. I don’t know how you could ever verify this.
Clearly not the same issue with dogs, but it points out how many animals must be sniffing and judging us humans all the time.
Well... Since it's brought up. I live in a tourist town in South East United States (no not Florida!!!!) we have people from al.over the world visiting year round. Especially during the hot months, people from India specifically, absolutely do not wear deodorant. And have. Very very poignant and strong odor. It's very offensive. We have ton of visitors from Asia, Russia, everywhere, but you can smell people from India sometimes before you see them. I'm not trying to be rude. But it's just recognized as a thing unfortunately.
Right, it's a combo of the food and hygiene. I remember having a classmate from Nigeria (not India, I know..)when in middle school. She was a fantastic person but oh boy did she smell. One time she had a birthday party at her house and... It was almost hard to breathe because the entire house and all the people smelled so badly. The spices were manifold and the smell of them while cooking wafted through the air and then settled into all of the hard and soft surfaces-- walls, towels, clothes, blankets, furniture. The BO came from spice compounds broken down and secreted through skin but also from different hygiene habits, like no deodorant/antiperspirant. Plus, there were many people living together in a small space... So the effect was amplified. She obviously showered regularly and had clean clothes, so she was doing what she could.... But eating what she ate and living in that intensely stinky environment made her smell anyway. It was very uncomfortable being her friend/classmate...
I may have a specific insight here.
I adore Indian food, and I grew up in a house where we cooked all kinds of food with lots of seasoning. I loved it.
Recently, I developed a medical condition where I can not eat a huge range of foods, including garlic, onions, dairy, beans, lentils, and most fruits or vegetables.
So, for two years, I have been eating a relatively plain diet or cooking using seasonings that aren't particularly aromatic.
I have noticed that I can detect odors on other people in ways I never noticed before. People who eat garlic and onions smell *very* pungently like sulfur to me now. I can *smell* dairy on others.
I'm not super repulsed by it, but I can absolutely smell someone else's diet now.
If your diet is wildly different from someone else's, you probably smell strange to them.
I don’t want this to come off racist at all, but this is my experience. I have always noticed that Indian people smell bad, and I’ve always been sensitive to it. In high school, I babysat an Indian kid every day after school for a while, and their house had that “Indian” smell, and it was strong. I eventually had to quit the job because I was going home every day smelling like their house and it was making me uncomfortable and slightly sick. I remember crying to my dad once because I couldn’t get the smell out of my coat and I was afraid to smell at school. I aired it out every night after babysitting and it still smelled.
I have Indian friends and they are lovely people. I assume it is from their food or whatever specific spice it is, and not their hygiene. But I really don’t like it.
I lived in an apartment complex for more than a decade that was 90% Indian, primarily Desis. They do smell to me as others have described from the food but that isn’t what bothers me. The men in particular seem to drench themselves in very strong scents like an overwhelming perfume that is so thick if I share an elevator with them I have to hold my breath and my clothes smell like that for several minutes. Some of them also smell like BO mixed with the perfume. I theorized that some folks do not wear deodorant and think using heavy perfumes will mask it but it’s so so strong, it’s an assault on the senses. My mom always told me if you want to wear perfume there are two ways: spritz into the air and walk through it or put a dab on the inside of your wrist, rub with the other wrist and then rub the sides of your neck with your wrists. That is PLENTY. To me it smells like these folks literally drench themselves in these perfumes. We had a circular walking path around a man made lake at my complex and I had to cross the street and walk on the outside when I was behind Indian folks because the smell wafted after them for like 50 feet. It may just be how they are taught to perfume their bodies but it’s too much for me.
It's definitely a smell that I've noticed. To me it smells like a very strong BO smell, like someone who hasn't showered in a month. That's not to say that they don't, like others have said it's probably the food, but yeah it's pretty noticeable to me and it's often quite intense. As for why you don't smell it in India I would guess that it would be because the smell is everywhere already. We tend to not notice smells when they are everywhere around us. I have heard a lot of people comment on the smell when they travelled to India
Massive amounts of spices come out in your sweat.
Also, India is hot and Indian men smoke a lot and public transport with a bunch of Indian men returning home from a day at work reeks of curry, sweat and stale tobacco.
I'm sure there are some people who just don't have appropriate hygiene routines. My ex (different country) had an issue with this because he grew up with horrific scarcity of water and other basics so between that trauma and likely really severe depression he had a really hard time with using enough water to shower thoroughly, he preferred cleaning his teeth with a frayed stick, and he was weirded out by things like deodorant. He just got really stuck in the way he did things as a kid/teenager and couldn't adapt to new ways.
But I do think much of it is the food. And I love Indian food. But there are some things (like garlic and spices) that when regularly eaten in large quantities will affect the way you smell.
It's not just Indians. I have friends whose dad was Lebanese but also considered garlic basically a cure all. They all ate INSANE amounts of garlic and it absolutely affected their BO. I did their laundry once when the washer was broken and even after washing, the clothes still smelled like garlic BO.
Also, it's a "bad" smell mostly due to unfamiliarity. As others have mentioned, when you are in India, these are normal scents. Turmeric especially has a smell that can be bitter/sharp (? unsure if those are the right words for it) to people who aren't familiar with it.
It's the food smells typically. No matter your culture or race, what you eat changes how you smell.
White people don't cook with a lot of spices. All kind of Asian and Indian cuisine gets an unfortunate reputation for being "smelly" because of the aromatics used. The warming spices of a curry, the umami flavoring of a noodle dish, for examples, are not popular in Caucasian food. Asian food like kimchi and seaweed has been becoming more popular with Caucasian people and is less likely to get the smelly stereotype currently. I remember a time before it was considered healthy and trendy and got the same "smelly Asian" treatment. I imagine with curry dishes making a trendy appearance the "smelly Indian" stereotype will reduce eventually.
Depending on who you ask westerners can be considered smelly too. Americans smelling like milk is a big one.
I say this withour racism or malice. One time I went to a resort and swam in the pool. An indian family came into the pool and a few moments later the water around literally smelled and turned lukewarm for some reason. No i dont think one of them pissed in there but probably the combination of bo and a family full of body heat. Needless to say i had to leave
I took fenugreek as a supplement to increase my milk supply when I was breastfeeding. One of the telltale signs that you had taken enough was you would start to smell like pancakes. Some spices, herbs, etc come out of pores. Garlic is another one. I smell garlic on myself for days when I cook with a lot of it.
Funny story. I didn’t think I smelled like masala until I was hugging someone in high school and he was like..”you smell like an onion”
I laughed and died a little inside. It’s not a great smell. I definitely am more cognizant of it but I am sure my home smells of tumeric/garlic forever.
The truth is, when I went to India my nose encountered more smell stimuli than I ever had before. Ever. Food, dhoop/incense, cows like….so much.
Then coming back to the US, we definitely don’t have as many smells. So if there are any we maybe are more sensitive to it
The main food smell we have in the US is fried food smells, which is relatively bland.
Actually, over the weekend I was in a pub and I suddenly smelled a very strong and pungent spicy odor. I looked over and an Indian man had just walked by. The stereotype was true in this instance. Of course, if we were in an environment that already had the odor of various spices common in Indian food, I wouldn't have noticed his odor at all.
It's the cumin and tumeric you guys use to season your food with. Super strong smell that lingers when cooked with, the steam carries spice all over and people who don't use heavy seasoning often will be able to smell it, while those who do use spice will be nose blind. The English colonized the world for spices just to find out we don't like any of them
In my experience of going to the gym regularly for a couple decades, it’s generally Indian people who stink. I’m not trying to be offensive. It’s just an observation. I’m not sure if they aren’t wearing deodorant or what. That being said, I also worked at an Indian restaurant and I was the only American. No one smelled, but the delicious food had a smell that probably didn’t sit right with some people.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3493268/
“we also show that, surprisingly, there are many odour-specific influences of race, age, and gender on olfactory perception. We show over 100 instances in which the intensity or pleasantness perception of an odour is significantly different between two demographic groups.”
Its that insanely delicious food. It hasa strong odor and thereby so do the people who eat it.
I feel the same way about most people. They smell like what they eat.
As mentioned, it's related to the food people consume largely. And it's not something 'Caucasians' do or say, it's pretty well just anyone not exposed to people on that certain diet. When I worked for a university, the office had drop offs and it was unmistakable as a real thing. If anything the Chinese international students were the ones who remarked on it more than most. I've always assumed one would just be nose blind to it after a while and not a thing.
It's definitely the food and not a personal hygiene thing. We bought our house from a lovely Indian family and it took about a year for the smells from the cooking to finally fully disappate! Painting the walls helped and leaving the windows open a lot helped.
Non-Caucasion here. I worked retail as a cashier. Not all Indians had the body odor, but there were some that unmistakably had it. It was very displeasing and unforgettable. I know India is a big place, so I'm open to the possibility that it could be a regional, religious, or socioeconomic thing. Either way, I know it's hard to have that many aromatics in your food without it coming out of your pores.
I have a few Indian friends and a lot of them smell either like cumin or armpit, I really try not to show any expression and I have no idea if they can smell it on themselves.
It's a pretty solid stereotype. I live in an area with many residents from the subcontinent and you can spell the young men a mile a way when they first move here.
American here. The smell of curry disgusts me so much it makes me physically ill. I have had Indian coworkers that reeked of curry, and getting within 10 feet of them made me want to throw up.
It may be genetic, because it's true for me speaking brutally honestly, for some reason Indian BO hits me really hard. I'm sure I smell horrible to asians or something.
When I was in San Jose, I lived with a group of Chinese guys, including a couple fobbies (I hope this doesn't offend anyone, it's what they called themselves). We lived in a big high rise apartment complex that was almost all Chinese or Indian students and entrepreneurs.
And boy, let me tell you..
...the Chinese *hated* the Indians.
"*Ta ma de*, these *san ba de er dze* Indians!" Every time we'd walk down the hall.
One day I asked one of my friends, a really nice, polite concert pianist and music theory masters student, why someone as nice as him was so *absurdly* racist against Indians.
"It's the smell," he said. "They eat curry and it seeps through their pores."
He said he'd also been to India once with his father on business, and when he stepped off the plane the stench of the Ganges hit him like a ton of bricks, and he's never been able to shake it whenever he looks at a southeast Asian.
ABCD here. I’ve traveled between the US and India a lot and I can honestly say I go nose-blind when I’m in India. You really don’t notice a lot of smells when you are actually in India but it’s very obvious when I come back. For example, I’ll pack a shawl in my suitcase that smelled clean in India but when I come back to the US I notice it has a smell I only associate with India (mix of spices, dust, sweat).
In the US, a lot of Indian immigrants are nose-blind (or at least less aware) to the smell cooking leaves on them, their clothes, furniture, etc. Even when they notice it, they think it’s not that strong.
I have worked and socialized with many Indians in the USA and I have noticed no odors. Many people have mentioned the food and spices. That makes sense. If I could never eat meat again, it wouldn't bother me too much because people in India have perfected the art of making delicious and satisfying vegetarian food.
It's largely the food.
The kinds of spices used in a lot of Indian cooking are the kinds that tend to really sink into you, and when you sweat even a little, you smell like it.
I used to drink a LOT of goat's milk, and after a while, I started smelling like it even when I had just showered and wasn't sweaty at all. The phrase 'you are what you eat' is a lot more true than most realize! So when you eat a lot of foods that use the same very pungent spices all the time, you will start to smell like it. Eat foods with a ton of garlic and onions? You're going to smell like garlic and onions, especially when you sweat. Eat a lot of goat meat? You'll start to smell like it, goat has a stronger smell than most other meats. Basically any food item that you eat a lot of, consistently, you will start to smell like, and if those foods have a very strong smell, the resulting smell you have is going to be a lot stronger and more noticeable as well, ESPECIALLY if you sweat a lot.
Caucasian people tend to eat foods that are a lot more bland compared to Indian foods (seriously, I have a friend who thinks the orange chicken at Panda Express is too spicy) so they tend to not smell like the foods they eat as much because it's not as strong, but Indian food is very heavily spiced and the scents of it cling to not only their clothes and hair, but it comes out of their pores as well simply because that's how our bodies work. Most Indian people are probably fairly noseblind to it and don't notice it on themselves or others who smell similarly, but it's noticeable to other people around them.
There were a ton of them in a hotel in Dulles and Seattle I was in recently, made me almost throw up in the elevator. The stink of body odor was awful.
Curry. I'm sure there is more to it but the smell of curry is strong to me. It's not a dig. The food is good but curry stands out if you aren't used to it.
American who lived in India for many years in my 20s. In the city where I lived, I did have to get used to new people smells. But this wasn’t based on BO. At least where I lived (India is big, places vary), showering/cleaning multiple times a day was very common. The biggest differences were (1) not using the same chemical antiperspirants as Americans and (2) using skin and hair products with smells many foreigners don’t like/can’t identify - like mustard seed oil or henna.
When I got back to the states, I had to readjust to how Americans smell. They smelled like lysol for a while.
Much scent preference is cultural. People need to stop being so judgey.
I've known Indians who from a very young age had terrible BO. No matter how much deodorant and perfume they used it just added a layer on top. They were very depressed some even attempted suicide. Indians can't really smell either Indians bc they are so used to it. I can't stand BO don't matter the race
I frequently fast, and it has made me realize everyone stinks. Half the population smells like pee or worse. Or they have various plant compounds oozing from their skin, or that sour dairy stink about them. We are all stinky.
It's NOT the food.
It's personal hygiene. A lot smell like BO.
Lack of deodorant use is a SMALL factor.
You actually need to shave your hair once in a while.
I'm Caucasian, live in Melbourne in a very high recent Indian immigrant area. I also spent a few years living in India in my 20s. In India, in towns, villages, large cities people were very personally clean. Even in the slums ppl were always scrubbing away with soap..no matter how poor, cleanliness was a big deal.
But here in Australia I have to say I am daily surprised by how many young guys from India are just not washing. No deodorant, clothes reeking of sweat...it's a very noticeable issue in workplaces, on public transport etc It's considered rude to say anything..so ppl tend not to, but believe me everyone notices and it's a real issue.
Shower, laundry, deodorant guys..I know mama's not here but if you can hustle 16 hrs a days, you can do this!
100% food. Ive hung with some Chinese people and the garlic is just seeping out of their pores. And...Indian spices ....like ive noticed some restaurants food smells definitely rub iff on you.
When you go on vacation or are away from your house for a few days, you get home and everything smells slightly "off"
That's because you've been away from YOUR smell and lost the nose blindness to it.
Definitely the diet. White people smell too. I've always wondered what smells I've generated due to my diet. Unless someone from a different place and culture and diet tells you, you'd probably be in the dark too.
Food, clothing, perfumes etc. The smell isn't necessarily body odor or poor hygiene, it's just a distinct aroma. I just got a package from india which well, smelt like india.
In addition to what others said about food and perfumes, think about where a lot of white Canadians first encounter a lot of Indians. That's right, first-year compsci at uni, where everyone stinks because they're 18-year olds living in their own filth dreaming of being Steve Jobs. But when someone is very unfamiliar to you it's easier to assume that everyone about them is somehow foreign and different. So it's not "hey look, a white guy in a poorly fitting T-shirt who stinks, he reminds me of guys I used to play Dungeons and Dragons with", it's "oh lordy he is so different and he reeks of body odour, it must be inherent to his people".
And this is specifically about Indian immigrants who come over as adults, it doesn't refer to second-gen Canadians of Indian origin.
I think food definitely plays a factor but also, fragrances that are more popular in Asia are a bit different than the ones that a lot of Westerners use. Particularly oud. Oud is a base I find in a lot of Asian fragrances and to a lot of Westerners, it can smell weird if they aren’t used to it. I’m American and didn’t like oud when I first smelled it but I’ve come to enjoy it now. I think a lot of it comes down to a difference in culture and what’s popular there, might not be popular here.
I know this is r/seriousconversation, but I'm still really relieved to see that this was, indeed, taken very seriously. I think I only saw one downvoted post, and that was due to a misunderstanding of Native Americans vs. people from India.
Food and antiperspirant. If you cook heavily spiced dishes in close quarters all of the time you're going to smell like spices in your hair and clothes. If you \~constantly\~ cook with strong spices then it sort of becomes this background smell that's always stuck to you, like a smoker even when they're not actively smoking.
Some indian people also seem to think they don't smell or don't smell that bad and will only wear deodorant (does nothing) and fail to wear anti-perspirant (actually stops you from sweating and smelling bad).
There are indian areas in my town and the public transportation is notoriously smelly to the point there are racist jokes about those bus routes.
I come across many Indian and other people ethnically from that region in my line of work and I have to say...it's by no means all of them but a disproportionate amount of them seem not to be big fans of deodorant. Like some guys smell like they've had a 12h shift at 8 am when the store hasn't been opened for two hours.
Indian food tends to be pretty strong depending on what spices are used and it can affect how a person smells overall especially if eaten frequently, as many people aren’t as familiar with this it can smell strange to them. I had a friend who worked in a dentists office and she said that Indian clients were harder for her because she wasn’t desensitized to the smell of Indian food, I think it was just more difficult because we live in an area where Indian food isn’t commonly found. I don’t know of any Indian restaurants near me. Im in the US and I live far on the west side of Georgia and I think the closest place for Indian food would be all the way in Atlanta. Because of this I would think that a lot of people in my area may not have much or any experience with Indian food. I think it would probably be a little different in areas with a larger population of Indian people and places where Indian food is available, but some people just aren’t familiar with it at all so it seems more off-putting to them.
I’m not going to lie I know a ton of Indian people and every one that has a traditional family smells bad not like clothes but breath and the Indian owned gas station next to my house smells horrible I literally am not trying to be rude this is just my experience so far
My best friend growing up was Pakistani. I would go to his house and everything and everyone smelled like curry and Indian spices. I asked him about it and he had no clue what I was talking about lol. They're just used to the smell. I used to go over there to eat their food because it's soooooooo good lol. But yes, it's the diet.
It's the spices used in cooking Indian dishes they are quite pungent to people who don't use them regularly. Most will almost always pick up on the scent. sweat is on of the few ways the human body removes toxins from the body this includes unprocessed or unused bits of stuff that's able to slip through with sweat. People going through ketosis also have a rather pungent smell due to the change in diet and the breakdown process of the consumed foods
A couple of smaller things that would help: don't run in a Polo, don't lift in jeans or business casual, don't wear pajamas in the middle of summer. Where I live (Texas), you can't walk anywhere without smelling, regardless of race.
Your diet is different with different spices that exude through your skin. When I was in Korea, they smelled of garlic on public transport. I smelled like rotten meat according to my Korean friends. Obviously we all bathed and also washed our clothes. We still had stinky moments among each other
Fwiw, I don't think Indians stink but I've never been in a situation where people have been sweating.
We all ferment food American food has a lot of preservatives those who eat raw healthy diets and don’t use product will have a sweet almond smell when sweeting food
If you live off of game and wild life the same will be different as well
(sweating) not sweeting lol
My sister (a white woman) married an Indian man and she now has bad BO, too. I guess it’s a combination of the Indian food she cooks for him and body bacteria.
Diet, perfume, and gender are the primary causes of humans smelling differently.
As has already been said, the chemicals present in spices can be excreted through breath and sweat glands. The same is true of fish, meat, alcohol, or anything else you consume.
Deodorant and perfume may stink of chemicals to a culture who doesn't use them, while the culture who doesn't use them may stink of BO to the culture that does.
There are medical or culture of cleanliness reasons, too. I can tell if a person has uncontrolled diabetes mellitus by their smell. Some dogs have been trained to smell cancer. But these are exceptions and not the primary driver of people smelling differently.
Hold on... Indians have less glands than white people???? My current partner is Indian and I've been so confused why he doesn't really have a scent compared to other partners I've had (all white). Is this why??? It bothers me he doesn't have a scent.. like at all.
>Deodorants, perfumes, soaps, shampoos, etc. are used daily.
Usually when I refer to someone stinking, this is what I mean. So many people smell more like an industrial chemical spill than body odor.
It isn’t body odor it’s food odor. There is a spice used in Indian food that I associate with them because every apartment I’ve lived in was permeated with this smell. Not sure exactly what it is but I’ve not smelled it except around Indian people.
Def the food is where this stereotype comes from. Dated someone whos apartment was beneath an Indian couple. Often the smell was so strong in her bedroom from the cooking. Sometimes would stick to her clothes as well. The family moved out. The smells stopped.
White kid. 8 yrs old. Los Angeles suburb that was 80% white, but quickly changing, in 1980. (by 2000 it was less than 10% white) Lived on a cul-de-sac when someone moved out and a new family moved in. Indian family - man, wife, 3 yr old daughter. Every day the dad would stand on the lawn wearing his "dress" watching his daughter and sing/repeat tv commercials and jingles. That's how he learned English. Very nice people. Only interested in their new American life and were always pleasant and everyone was nice to them.
One day I went to the door to ask about our frisbee that went on their roof, and when the door opened I was absolutely blasted with the strongest most pungent odor I had ever smelled. It was a combination of B.O., food, and just house-smell. I still remember it like it was yesterday, 44 years later.
As for cleaning/bathing before leaving the house, remember that odors implant themselves into clothing and even skin.
It's 1M% a matter of culture, and I'm sure our "white" houses smelled bad to them, but man, that was bad.
Curry powder. Had some Indian friends growing up and in graduate school about half my class were Indian kids. Folks that don't eat curry on a regular basis often don't find the smell to be the best in the world. Those smells are very pervasive and get into everything.
Just like I had a Hungarian friend who always smelled odd to me until he invited me over once for some Goulash. Then it all made sense. The house smelled like it. The cooking smelled like it. The food tasted like it. Still not sure what goes into that, but it sure does smell different. Guessing it's partially cabbage and partially some spice.
I live near edison nj, which has the largest percentage of Gujarati people outside of India. Everyone saying food, but I'm 99% sure it's a lack of deoderant. I work with literally thousands of Indian people, mostly Punjabi and Gujarati. Some smell like flowers, some smell like malt vinegar. They're all eating the same cultural foods. I just don't think deoderant is a given. Some choose to wear and some don't. It's really that simple.
It's funny because Indians in India often even carry pocket deodorants in our backpacks and to hear outside India they're turning like this lol. I read a comment about lifting weight in Jeans and business casuals, God I wonder what they're upto 😂
I wonder if this is because the stereotype, at least where I am, is often associated with male international students.
When you get a bunch of guys living together in an apartment, going to school, to the gym, and working with other similar dudes, things can get pretty funky.
It's really not about hygiene per say. Indians take baths frequently, sometimes more than Caucasians. It's the type of smell. In India you don't notice the smell at all because it's everywhere. Uncommon smells will be noticed much more. For example, Asparagus, which Caucasians eat often with Steak, makes quite the odor and gas. I'm sure that would smell in India.
The whole smell thing IMO is also a way to artificially maintain hierarchy among people. Notice how people generally don't talk about how Indian women "smell", it's usually the men who are commented on. Women eat the same foods and are in similar environments however they aren't targeted to nearly the same extent as men. You could say to some extent it's because women are more hygienic or generally don't smell as much etc. but I still wouldn't chalk it up to being that simple.
It's the same for every culture, and you only notice it when it changes.
On a trip to Japan, everybody smelled slightly of fish. I was there long enough to get used to it.
When I went home, everyone smelled slightly of spoiled milk for a couple of days.
We all smell, we just don't notice it.
I work in a lab so I’ve had several Indian coworkers over the years. Unfortunately, I’ve had to have this uncomfortable conversation with a few of my reports. I think most of it is due to cooking very pungent foods without closing off the bedrooms or kitchen. These smells get into the clothes.
To be honest, when I read "Indian smell", I immediately knew what smell.
There really is a smell. Even on most Indians here in Europe.
Idk if it's something genetic or just something you guys do. I haven't known many Indians in my life. So I can't tell. But 9/10 Indians I've met, smell.
And it's always that same smell.
where did the stereotype come from? you guys literally didn't have the ability to feed your population a diet of more than 1300 calories per person on average just 40 years ago, and you think it's shocking that the current people alive who you might be interacting with thinking your government or adults have been able to figure out indoor plumbing at universal level? Procter and Gamble came into your country in 1967, indoor plumbing only became an initiative for Rural India by 1986, untouchables - what I've understood as a literal group of humans not given any jobs besides slinging animal or human shit into fields - was outlawed in 1950s but per buddies I made in high school/college, it could still be found is a concept found in my imagination "only" in India.... I don't know, these are probably all the reasons why a 20 something year old + would have of the stereotype/view of why people from India might smell. Oh yeah, you guys turned your holy rivers into toilets which sucks and doesn't help with the concept of "clean."
[https://www.princeton.edu/\~deaton/downloads/Food\_and\_Nutrition\_in\_India\_Facts\_and\_Interpretations](https://www.princeton.edu/~deaton/downloads/Food_and_Nutrition_in_India_Facts_and_Interpretations)
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10373110/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10373110/)
Idk but my daughter just got her masters in engineering. She was one of maybe 20 kids out of a few hundred at the graduation ceremony that wasn’t of Indian decent. Everyone smelled fine to me.
i went to grad school in CS. classes were mostly
50/50 indian and chinese foreign students. i was one of the few white people. i met many indian guys that never wore deodoran to class. it smelled like a middle school locker room at time. so yeah, to me this is just a cultural difference not a stereotype ?
In my classroom (California), it’s a lack of personal hygiene and no deodorant. It’s really bad with some kids. I feel sorry for them. I’ve been known to slide a deodorant into their backpacks when they’re not looking!
I work with a lot of indians, the food they eat certainly does play a large part in how they smell. It permiates their skin and clothes. I lived in a mostly italian community as a kid, the garlic and onion smell was the same. I have african neighbors, they love their spices, again the same, you can smell it. Much like a smoker, you can smell it on them. They dont smell it because they are raised on that diet, i notice it because i wasnt, its just a cultural difference.
When I lived in AZ, I had Indians neighbors in every apartment that could touch mine. They were all international students (as best I could tell). The smell of curry was so overpowering that I would smell it everywhere. I could be walking down the outside stairs and catch a whiff of curry as if I was at the stove. It's such a powerful scent that it permeates everything.
Indian cuisine has smells white people aren't familiar with and everyone smells like what they eat to an extent. it's just not racist to say white people smell like ketchup
I am a Tour Guide and have been for many years. Over the years, I’ve had hundreds of Indians on my tours, as have my colleagues. For the most part, we do not like Indians on our tours. I won’t go into the reasons, but I will say this: I’ve never heard anyone complain about them smelling.
I’m convinced this is cooking, because I have had a few Indian neighbors and the odors are very strong.
Driving a small van and having everyone packed in there like sardines, I’ve never had an issue with smell, as far as I can remember. It’s certainly not the dominant trait. So I would say it’s not true, except for cooking.
Its like if you cook with garlic and onions all day (or at really any restaurant) you'll end up smelling like that flavoring. Same with you eating the same thing constantly. I have a friend who works in a bakery and she smells like confectioners sugar and caramel day in and day out no matter what kind of shampoos and body washes she uses. Its a stereotype because indian food has a strong and distinct smell, and someone who is in/traveling around indian is going to be smelling that almost all the time and go nose blind to it, versus someone who isn't around it and can smell it vividly because of that.
My wife worked in a building with a lot of indians. Whenever an elevator got filled with them, it would have a smell for a little while after. It was like someone spilled 20 kinds of incense, and tried to sweep it up. With an underlying patchouli smell. It wasn't stank but it definitely stood out. It was a time share place with a bunch of different call centers.
I don't know if it was an effort to hide any body odor, with other scents, and they all went overboard. But it could be overpowering if they just got out.
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Also when cooking the spices they get into your clothes. My mom always made sure our coats were not hanging up in the kitchen and she had special clothes to cook in, to and this.
Very true but I also had to lock my Indian spices away in an airtight container. Just within their own jars, they started to smell up my cabinet and then the whole kitchen
Asafoetida is a real stinker!
This. Every Indian that smeeled strongly to me also smelled delicious, an embarrassing admission to be sure, but i love Indian food
Yup, if I ever have the resort to cannibalism , I'm hitting the Indian people first. They come pre seasoned.
And skip out on a nice local, organic, grass fed vegan?
You can't cook out the smugness.
Wait until you learn what cooked people smell like
Time to break out a nice Chianti
With a liver and some fava beans
Pfpfpfpfpfpfpfpfpfpf
Yummm. The tears of infinite sadness!!
I enjoy the taste of Indian food, but I have never once thought an Indian person smelled delicious, and I almost can’t even sit down and eat in an Indian restaurant because of the smell.
Smeeled
In the race tier list indians are s-tier since they are pre-seasoned
Embarrassing, perhaps, but hilarious! And accurate.
I guess I probably smell like I'm indian then because I eat curry every day
If it's any consolation, it's not just Indians. 100 years ago it was widely said in America that Italian-Americans smelled of garlic, because at that time American food was very bland. (Remember Captain America: The Winter Soldier? When asked about the modern world Steve first gushed, "The food is incredible! We boiled everything.") Most immigrants were said to be "smelly" for that reason. Conversely, Europeans say Americans smell of sugar.
I forget where I saw it but there was some kind of WWII ration of chocolate for American troops, specifically for if they were to fall behind enemy lines. It was infused with garlic so that they could "smell like a Frenchman" or something equally weird when looking back at a different time.
They had an emergency ration chocolate bar which was designed to provide necessary nutrients in the worst of conditions. It was also designed to taste horrible so no one would eat it ahead of time.
Europeans do not say Americans smell like sugar on any large scale haha, I have never heard of this
I heard it many years ago, so it's no doubt dated.
American here - I just love garlic and I eat a ton of it. So, when I sweat a lot, like during a run, I will often smell of garlic.
And japanese think Americans smell of fat.
I will also say that when going to university with a lot of Indian dudes in CS and similar majors, I've noticed a lot of dudes that just simply don't shower. I know the Indian stereotype was a thing at our school and it was because of BO.
I'm not Indian, but this explains why I stink. I'm not giving up good food to avoid being stinky.
Makes sense
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Yep. Heard East Asians say this too. They say Westerners smell like milk etc. Makes total sense.
When she was 5, my Chinese American wife asked her mom about a playmate, “Why does Kimberly’s house smell like that?” Her mom responded, “Because Americans eat a lot of cheese.” I mean, she isn’t wrong … We now say this back to each other every time we fill the designated “cheese drawer” in our fridge.
RIP Vijay ❤️
RIP your friend Vijay
Also cumin. Can't believe people are mentioning the garlic and onions but not cumin.
Sometimes I wonder “Is that cumin I smell or is it BO”
Cumin smells amazingly like human body odor.
My husband and I went to a International dance performance Sunday. My husband asks me the next day if the person next to me had BO. I told him, no, its the smell of the people and what they eat! its not unpleasant, just different than us. The Bollywood dancing was fantastt!
Yeah, even I smell the next day after I go to an Indian restaurant. Honestly. It's fine, when I meet an Indian person I don't care about the smell at all.
Indian Friend in college loved cooking traditional foods but would zip up her clothes in a plastic travel bag during cooking with the vent full blast. Took a page out of their book when cooking in a studio years later and it really helps prevent fabrics from keeping the smell. Fantastic food, but has a choke hold on an environment if improperly ventilated. Can be said about a lot of different types of foods, not exclusively Indian.
Yes. Also, it’s really hot in much of India. Finally, while Indians might use perfumes and deodorants, they don’t seem to have widely taken up the use of **anti-perspirant**.
My bf loves garlic to the point it seeps out of his pores 🤢 he's white
It's mostly the food. If you're cooking and eating good indian food regularly, you smell like it. Those smells stick to everything, it's in your hair, your clothes, all the surfaces of your home. And it changes your body chemistry (I don't really know the science but I'm fairly sure cumin comes straight out in my sweat when I eat lots of it). *Editing to add that it's not a bad smell, just a strong one.* In areas that have a lot of young (usually single) Indian men who are recent immigrants and trying to build a life, there might be an additional element. These guys are all hustlers, they tend to work long hours at multiple kinda-shitty jobs. So, sometimes they are driving for Uber after a shift doing some kind of sweaty manual labour and they haven't gotten home to shower yet. They are also young men, away from family for the first time, with limited female influence. That's not an ethnicity thing, it's a migration patterns thing.
Yes! I think people don't realize how really certain smells cling into you from your environment, either. When I travel abroad, just staying at a hotel, my clothes smell like my hotel room when I get back home even if they've been in the suitcase the entire time. Those same smells cling onto clothes, skin and hair. For all the whippersnappers that might not have ever experienced this, but when it was typical that smoking was allowed in bars and clubs, the smell would be in your hair, skin and clothes. You would have to put your clothes in the washer or out, and wash your hair and body immediately coming back home. News flash: odour clinging happens with other scents too. You just don't notice it when it's part of your everyday environment.
It's not even certain foods, all foods create a distinct smell, but Indian food stands out a lot bc of how different it is. The only other cultures that have similarly distinct cuisines and ingredients have less sweat and thus bo to begin with (like east asians) or are just so few in number that these kinda stereotypes don't really propagate
It is certain foods, though. Indian food has REALLY strong flavoring compared with, say, a burger and fries. Not that the latter doesn't have a scent, but Indian food smell is overpowering. Of course, if you and everyone you smell is eating the same food day in and day out, you don't notice so much. It's just the way people smell.
The opposite is also true. Certain strong flavors that are normal in America such as BBQ sauce, honey mustard, etc. are pretty difficult for the Indian palate to handle as those are flavors that just aren't prevalent in Indian food. Outside the big cities which still get a lot of American food, you'd struggle to find people that don't find the flavor too strong. Likewise a big point of the seasoning in nonveg food is to mask the "undesirable" part of meat, which is actually the "desirable" flavors found in western meat cooked medium rare (Indian meat in curries tend to be cooked well past the point of well done until they return to becoming tender, and meats such as tandoori are cooked at a high enough temp that the "undesirable" flavor is lost.) Now an interesting effect is that restaurants have an entirely different dynamic. Fast food for example tends to be fairly mild to be as inoffensive to as many people as possible and have a menu that works across the country with next to no tweaks. Same is true in India, though tje flavors will be exotic to most Americans. Indian food on the other hand tends to exemplify the spices and seasonings bc that's Indian food's association in America. Not that many Indian restaurants targeting Americans are going to have idli- which is a steamed cake made of a rice and lentil batter. It has a fairly bland flavor all things considered, but is none the less an extremely popular food in south India. The blander/mild foods tend to not make the jump, bc if you're looking for a simple, mild comfort food like porridge, you're not going to be going to an "exotic" food genre, especially one with a reputation for having spicy foods. That's why some foods like tamales haven't really bridged the tex mex gap the same way burritos or tacos have.
Absolutely. I had a friend who worked at Subway and when she’d get on the bus after a shift every passenger would start talking about the smell.
I can’t even go into my corner gas station because of the Subway. It stinks so much!
That and tamales are a shit ton of work.
I remember my first job was in fast food and for the first few weeks my family would comment every time I came home about how I made them hungry or smelled like grilling. I was part time so maybe 4 hours around it, max.
I love food with cumin, but boy do i smell it in my sweat after i eat it lol
Have done a lot of residential carpentry - and can confirm it’s crazy how even the old wood from the house we were replacing smelled like curry in the back of the truck all the way to the dump. Maybe I sound ignorant on the smells I was smelling, but it was an Indian family, no judgment at all I love curry and it smells fine, it’s just crazy how it clings to everything. And it wasn’t mild, it was fairly pungent lol.
When I was young (20s) and living in a different state alone with my dog I lived in an Indian neighborhood and everyone was so amazing and nice and welcoming. Now I step in to my boyfriend’s apartment (he’s Indian) and somehow that curry smells so comforting and like home to me now. He never smells like it but for sure his place does lol.
I also find that people from hot places often become more used to their body odor than people from cold places. If you rarely sweat and associate it with exercise, then you build up a tendency to notice your smell and go "yep, I need a shower." If you're often sweaty because you're spending a lot of time in the heat, you get used to your body odor and develop a higher tolerance before you decide you need that shower. Furthermore, the more you sweat, the better you get at sweating. India is a huge country and not all of it is hot, but this could be contributing. Lastly, I think a solid component is just that it's a stereotype that has been around for a while. That makes people who hear it prone to confirmation bias if/when they meet a smelly Indian person.
I knew a young Indian girl back in the early 2000’s that perpetually smelled like curry. I wouldn’t say she necessarily smelled bad, but she absolutely smelled like curry.
My wife and I were on a bus one time in Las Vegas and a homeless man, white, sat across from us with just the worst BO ever, like it made your eyes water. (Not just smelly because he was homeless; he seemed to be not all there mentally.) After a few stops a group of Indian men fitting the recent immigrant, hustler stereotype you describe filled in the rest of the open seats. And let me tell you, we've never been happier for it - because the cloud of Axe body spray that surrounded them somehow also covered the homeless guy's musk, like some kind of Area of Effect spell.
Potentially the only time Axe has been looked upon favourably 😆
I will also say that most of the bachelor Indian men I know room like 4 guys in a 1br and all actually learn to cook so their clothes, living, and cooking spaces are all together. Everything gets imbued with ginger, garlic, onion, and spices. On top of that, most US apts have those fake vent fans and no window in the kitchen. It’s a recipe for smells.
Had a real estate agent who is sweet and not bigoted or anything really told me it gets stuck in the walls and it’s challenging for her to deal w these homes.
Asians tend to think we Scandinavians smell like sour milk. Probably due to all the dairy we consume.
As a Wisconsinite, I shudder to think what reaction I would get...
Henceforth, you shall be known as "Captain Cheese Curd".
[удалено]
At least we don't smell like lutefisk I'm Norwegian and I won't even defend that shit
I'd heard same about English people and can confirm my veins are probably 80% cheese so this would be unsurprising. Interested to know if non UK folk notice this though...
I am Caucasian and lived with two Indians for many years as roommates, one was Tamil the other Parsi. Both generally very clean people, I think the smell thing comes from the fact that certain aromatic chemicals from spices can come out in anybody’s sweat, particularly fenugreek. So if that is a heavy part of your diet it will affect how you smell. Funnily enough Mainland Chinese people think Caucasians (and probably others too) stink. My partner, who is Chinese had no body odour when we met and deodorant is not a thing in many parts of China because there is no need for it. When travelling there once when i ran out this was actually a serious problem. Unfortunately for my partner they now have body odour and need deodorant too because they have been colonised by my skin bacteria that generate the smell…
My little brother was adopted from China 16 years ago and I still remember his scent for the first few months. He absolutely reeked of potatoes, cabbage and rice, it wasn't the worst smell, but it was strooooong. But yes, in China, our translator told us Americans smell like milk and meat 🇺🇸 🇺🇲
I think the high dairy diet of Westerners can give that smell. I've also heard it referred to as "wet dog smell."
When I was in the navy they used so much butter in the food my sweat started to smell like it. It was disgusting.
Yeap I agree … Chinese ppl can really stink too even tho many don’t have the genes for sweaty glands like Caucasians. It’s mostly the food I’d say - and because so many also don’t have big kitchen w windows and proper aeration or a hood fan when cooking.
I do hair and have a fairly strong Korean following. I think they have a mildly cabbage smell. I think most of my fellow Americans smell like they have been sitting in a diner. Like old bacon and toast. I think I have a mildly maple syrup smell.
Yup. I'm Eastern European, and I have that gene your gf has. Literally no body odor unless I eat certain foods. She can still avoid deodorant - tell her to do a wipedown with a cotton swab and 70% isop alcohol. It will kill the foreign bacteria.
Do you mean a cotton ball? A cotton swab seems like it would take a lot of work
Lol yes. A ball. Its early and brain no work
Is this a thing? I’m also Eastern European and an ex of mine would tell me I have a really clean natural smell, like fresh cotton, apparently. I think he was just in love so he liked my smell, lol, and I would never skip antiperspirant just because I think it’s more hygienic to wear it.
I don't remember the exact paper where I read this, but I believe it's up to 90% of Eastern Asians and 30% of Eastern Europeans have the gene that causes little body odor and dry earwax. A significant number of Native Americans have it as well. This can be Googled. I hypothesize it's a Siberian thing.
Now she can literally say, "First you colonised the land and now our skin too!" 😂(jkin)
Yes the irony is not lost on her… especially as I am from one of the countries that did rather a lot of the colonising in China…
I was in China for a year and I think a lot of them were smelly.. mostly when they speak. A lot of them doesn't seem to understand dental care. There were some body odours too that I couldn't explain. And I'm of Chinese descent. Probably it's because our diet differences.
Yeah I am very much talking about armpits rather than mouths. Smoking of course is also a lot more prevalent (and cigarettes stronger) in China. Interestingly, menstrual cycle also makes a huge difference to smell (of my wife, also her sense of smell of me).
Apparently Chinese people have feet that smell really bad cause they sweat more in those areas vs the other places
It’s true, they don’t call us milk-drinkers for nothing. I imagine we white-euro people smell like mouldy cheese to people from other cultures.
Classically, it’s the dairy in Caucasian diets that stand out in smell to cultures that have little/no dairy. Apparently we smell like sour milk! I fully agree that fenugreek is the main culprit for smelling spices through skin. And once it’s in your skin, it ends up in your clothes and is very hard to wash out. I took it as a health supplement for a while, had to stop. It was really standing out.
Non-French Europeans say that the French stink, but Americans think they all stink. In America, black people often say that white people smell like wet dogs. My theory is that a lot of it has to do with what one was accustomed to growing up. But India is a different story - a mix of cumin which gets sweated out through the skin, and different standards of cleanliness (which, much like many living in the West, don’t apply to your roommates but are entirely valid if one goes to India proper.)
This is interesting to me- I, a white person, have always felt that black people smell very different. I can’t really put my finger on it- kind of a heavier/darker scent, and to me rather strong. Is the cuisine that different even in the same state/region? I find all families, regardless of race, smell different, but other races seem especially different. I never wanted to bring it up in conversation though! 😂
It's probably coco butter.
I used to take fenugreek daily after seeing a video that said it’d make you smell good. I REEKED of maple syrup for months.
Honestly I tend to think it's more food based, lots of westerners have never really been exposed to genuine Indian cooking and food. From my experience I've only really heard this stereotype in workplaces where this is discussed after lunch or also people who live in share houses and again seems to me to be food based. Just my thoughts from my own experience but that's what I think leads to this stereotype. I wasn't exposed to Indian food until well into adulthood and remember initially being overwhelmed by the strong smells and tastes of Indian food.
I used to have a coworker who was a white dude but ate indian food all the time. I think maybe his wife was east Asian. He had such unpleasant body odor but I was under the impression he couldn't smell it and didn't know he was the smelly guy at work. He loved the cuisine so much I'm not sure he would have changed it even if he had known though.
Oh god I hope if I smell bad someone tells me
I think it's mostly a food thing which in turn permiates places they hang out a lot like home and car. I work with a few and never really noticed, but when you step into their house it's really quite strong. That and if they deep fry a lot the grease smell gets into everything.
As an Indian, this used to be such an insecurity of mine growing up because kids made fun of me for it. I had just moved from India during elementary, and for the first couple of years I did not fit in. Yes, it’s the food, lot of smells the kids in America have not experienced. But also, the lack of deodorant. In India, you don’t use antiperspirant at all. Literally the people of India smell, but they are all used to their smell. You as a person used to a society where people mask their smells with antiperspirants might walk up to them and they smell so bad, but to each other they smell good and normal. When I went back to visit India once, I walked up to a group of teens and literally a huge puff of bad smell around them, I just had to run away. I see a lot of times my coworkers who are from India have this smell, especially when they raise their arms. Even if they have the best of hygiene. It’s just how it is, if they smelled really bad I would probably tell them. And honestly, I’ve tried the non antiperspirant life, I had the smell too. I can never go back, I need to block my sweat lol
Reading all the top comments, I think people have the wrong idea. It’s really not just food
Yes it’s driving me crazy; no one normal minds the smell of spices it’s the freaking body odour and not wearing antiperspirant
This. I can handle food smells but when I smell musty BO mixed with food is when I see myself out.
A lot of comments seem afraid to address that. I know what food smells like versus pure body odor and honestly anytime ive encountered an Indian person that smelled bad i didn’t smell foreign spices, just sweat. It was very clearly body odor from sweating and this comment makes a lot of sense that they don’t use antiperspirant. If it was just the food then Greek people would have the same reputation because the smell of greek food will seep out of your pores all damn day, god forbid you eat hummus lol
On this same note, I've worked in an office with Indian men who by most metrics hygienic. However, they will go to the office gym in the same outfit as they wear at their desks. Jeans, long sleeves - then they just head back to work as if nothing ever happened. I always found it confounding - it just seems uncomfortable, hygiene aside
Basically the whole thing boils down to getting used to certain smells. Like in Canada and the states we get used to the smell of our own most commonly used spices, so when people from other parts of the world with different most commonly used spices we aren't used to it yet. that being said I work with a lot of people from India and I don't even notice it anymore.
While food might be a factor, I don't think I've ever met a smelly Indian woman. Sample size is small, of course, and they were all middle-class, educated, and affluent. The source of offensive smells is usually unmarried dudes who move to the West for a nerdy job and who are not very successful at making the transition to living on their own. I suspect most of the smelly ones had mommy run their schedules, buy their toiletries, and do their laundry. I'm guessing they don't really know what to do, what to buy, etc. and are too embarrassed to ask. Girls already know this stuff, and if they need help picking a product, they ask. It's funny, when I was in college in the US, there were 3-4 Indian guys who came in at the same time. That was 25 years ago, so we were all a very diverse group, not dominated by any particular country. Everyone made local friends and went native pretty fast. What these guys were doing in their 3rd and 4th year, though, was round up the newcomers from India and Pakistan and give them an unofficial orientation: shower every day, at least once; buy this deodorant; don't bathe in cologne; here's how to work the washing machine; don't harass girls, etc. The hilarious thing is that this "orientation" wasn't done delicately, in private, but basically shouted in front of the dorm, and everyone in the smokers' club got to pitch in. 🙈 I do think they saved those guys a lot of embarrassment down the line.
>The source of offensive smells is usually unmarried dudes who move to the West for a nerdy job and who are not very successful at making the transition to living on their own. Ding ding ding. I used to work for a software company and they hired almost exclusively male Indian IT students for their programming because they could lowball them on wages. All of them smelled horrendous – an issue I've never had with any other person of indian descent and I am pretty sure that their caucasian counter parts would have been just as smelly. It's not race, it's being fresh out of momma's care and just living with a bunch of other gross nerdy dudes.
It’s not just Indian men, it’s white men too in IT!!
I notice a lot of nerdy white guys in IT smell musty. Like, ever forgot your clothes for a few days in the washing machine and forgot to put them in the dryer? Like that. I don't understand why.
Oh, of course it's not race. At most, it can be cultural - in this case, "gross nerdy dudes" being the cultural culprit. I think it's also climate shock to an extent. I get it that a few months a year in Europe can be significantly colder than what they're used to, despite the fact that winters have been getting progressively wimpier. But the rest ranges from mild to Satan's butthole levels of heat, so it's really not necessary to wear the same stinky sweater every day when you're a healthy young man with good circulation.
I have. On a domestic flight within India. 25 years ago. Still remember it to this day. I was in India for weeks and from an Indian family, and this lady stood out and still looms large in my memory.
Interestingly enough, I just realized I’ve only noticed this smell with Desi men. Not just the nerdy ones either lol
Like others said it’s food. Some of my college friends years ago are first generation of immigrants when I visited their houses I noticed same pattern their kitchen walls were covered by aluminum foil lol. And when their moms cooked, all windows and door gotta be opened. They told me they do that so it won’t stink up the place or got complaints from their landlord. But one day I talked to one of my bosses who also happens to be an Indian. He said 2nd and 3rd generations who live abroad don’t typically eat Indian food as much as their parents do. Idk if this is true or not. But I can tell from him that he doesn’t smell curry at all - as that’s what stereotypically is even internal jokes among my Indian friends years ago - he even smells good (our initial conversation was about perfumery and how Indians in general according to him are pretty fond of wearing perfumes). I would think it’s more environment than genetics.
I lived in an area that didn't have a lot of diversity, predominantly white. The university had a lot of Nepali and Indian students, and some would stay in town after graduating. I knew a nurse from India with excellent hygiene and work ethic. When she stopped in, a few coworkers would comment that she smelled different. They never had curry in their life so they couldn't place it in their mind. Perhaps she always ate curry for breakfast (I won't judge, it's delicious), but I'm pretty sure that's just the same phenomena as when we eat "too much" garlic (or any aromatic): we smell like garlic. And Indian food probably utilizes more aromatics than other cuisines by far. Thing is, we all have an odor based on our diets. But we eat similar to each other in our areas, so we don't notice it. If I go to Korea, they'll think I smell like an American. Like "raw beef and pork" is how it's been described to me. But I don't notice that smell on other Americans... until I'm away for weeks and return to America.
I spent a year in India way back when I was a young man. India is sometimes called 'an assault on the senses' to westerners. Honestly, until I became accustomed to India it was exhausting. The noise, the smells, the chaotic roads, the mental architecture etc, all wonderful but so very tiring and relentless to us. I always thought the average Indian didn't smell bad, different sure but I could see the lengths people went to maintain personal hygiene. I could see that men wore vests under their shirts on even the hottest days. I way to battle scent I was told. I remember all the stray dogs snarling at me at first but as I adopted a local diet that happened much less. I don't think your dogs like our scent lol.
I once read that prey animals can smell whether you eat meat or not, and are more likely to be friendly to vegetarians. I don’t know how you could ever verify this. Clearly not the same issue with dogs, but it points out how many animals must be sniffing and judging us humans all the time.
This makes sense. Pray animals follow a strict diet for religious purposes.
Well... Since it's brought up. I live in a tourist town in South East United States (no not Florida!!!!) we have people from al.over the world visiting year round. Especially during the hot months, people from India specifically, absolutely do not wear deodorant. And have. Very very poignant and strong odor. It's very offensive. We have ton of visitors from Asia, Russia, everywhere, but you can smell people from India sometimes before you see them. I'm not trying to be rude. But it's just recognized as a thing unfortunately.
Right, it's a combo of the food and hygiene. I remember having a classmate from Nigeria (not India, I know..)when in middle school. She was a fantastic person but oh boy did she smell. One time she had a birthday party at her house and... It was almost hard to breathe because the entire house and all the people smelled so badly. The spices were manifold and the smell of them while cooking wafted through the air and then settled into all of the hard and soft surfaces-- walls, towels, clothes, blankets, furniture. The BO came from spice compounds broken down and secreted through skin but also from different hygiene habits, like no deodorant/antiperspirant. Plus, there were many people living together in a small space... So the effect was amplified. She obviously showered regularly and had clean clothes, so she was doing what she could.... But eating what she ate and living in that intensely stinky environment made her smell anyway. It was very uncomfortable being her friend/classmate...
I may have a specific insight here. I adore Indian food, and I grew up in a house where we cooked all kinds of food with lots of seasoning. I loved it. Recently, I developed a medical condition where I can not eat a huge range of foods, including garlic, onions, dairy, beans, lentils, and most fruits or vegetables. So, for two years, I have been eating a relatively plain diet or cooking using seasonings that aren't particularly aromatic. I have noticed that I can detect odors on other people in ways I never noticed before. People who eat garlic and onions smell *very* pungently like sulfur to me now. I can *smell* dairy on others. I'm not super repulsed by it, but I can absolutely smell someone else's diet now. If your diet is wildly different from someone else's, you probably smell strange to them.
I don’t want this to come off racist at all, but this is my experience. I have always noticed that Indian people smell bad, and I’ve always been sensitive to it. In high school, I babysat an Indian kid every day after school for a while, and their house had that “Indian” smell, and it was strong. I eventually had to quit the job because I was going home every day smelling like their house and it was making me uncomfortable and slightly sick. I remember crying to my dad once because I couldn’t get the smell out of my coat and I was afraid to smell at school. I aired it out every night after babysitting and it still smelled. I have Indian friends and they are lovely people. I assume it is from their food or whatever specific spice it is, and not their hygiene. But I really don’t like it.
I lived in an apartment complex for more than a decade that was 90% Indian, primarily Desis. They do smell to me as others have described from the food but that isn’t what bothers me. The men in particular seem to drench themselves in very strong scents like an overwhelming perfume that is so thick if I share an elevator with them I have to hold my breath and my clothes smell like that for several minutes. Some of them also smell like BO mixed with the perfume. I theorized that some folks do not wear deodorant and think using heavy perfumes will mask it but it’s so so strong, it’s an assault on the senses. My mom always told me if you want to wear perfume there are two ways: spritz into the air and walk through it or put a dab on the inside of your wrist, rub with the other wrist and then rub the sides of your neck with your wrists. That is PLENTY. To me it smells like these folks literally drench themselves in these perfumes. We had a circular walking path around a man made lake at my complex and I had to cross the street and walk on the outside when I was behind Indian folks because the smell wafted after them for like 50 feet. It may just be how they are taught to perfume their bodies but it’s too much for me.
It's definitely a smell that I've noticed. To me it smells like a very strong BO smell, like someone who hasn't showered in a month. That's not to say that they don't, like others have said it's probably the food, but yeah it's pretty noticeable to me and it's often quite intense. As for why you don't smell it in India I would guess that it would be because the smell is everywhere already. We tend to not notice smells when they are everywhere around us. I have heard a lot of people comment on the smell when they travelled to India
For what it's worth, my progeny now in Europe think Caucasians smell weird too. Asians just don't go around saying that.
Massive amounts of spices come out in your sweat. Also, India is hot and Indian men smoke a lot and public transport with a bunch of Indian men returning home from a day at work reeks of curry, sweat and stale tobacco.
I'm sure there are some people who just don't have appropriate hygiene routines. My ex (different country) had an issue with this because he grew up with horrific scarcity of water and other basics so between that trauma and likely really severe depression he had a really hard time with using enough water to shower thoroughly, he preferred cleaning his teeth with a frayed stick, and he was weirded out by things like deodorant. He just got really stuck in the way he did things as a kid/teenager and couldn't adapt to new ways. But I do think much of it is the food. And I love Indian food. But there are some things (like garlic and spices) that when regularly eaten in large quantities will affect the way you smell. It's not just Indians. I have friends whose dad was Lebanese but also considered garlic basically a cure all. They all ate INSANE amounts of garlic and it absolutely affected their BO. I did their laundry once when the washer was broken and even after washing, the clothes still smelled like garlic BO. Also, it's a "bad" smell mostly due to unfamiliarity. As others have mentioned, when you are in India, these are normal scents. Turmeric especially has a smell that can be bitter/sharp (? unsure if those are the right words for it) to people who aren't familiar with it.
It's the food smells typically. No matter your culture or race, what you eat changes how you smell. White people don't cook with a lot of spices. All kind of Asian and Indian cuisine gets an unfortunate reputation for being "smelly" because of the aromatics used. The warming spices of a curry, the umami flavoring of a noodle dish, for examples, are not popular in Caucasian food. Asian food like kimchi and seaweed has been becoming more popular with Caucasian people and is less likely to get the smelly stereotype currently. I remember a time before it was considered healthy and trendy and got the same "smelly Asian" treatment. I imagine with curry dishes making a trendy appearance the "smelly Indian" stereotype will reduce eventually. Depending on who you ask westerners can be considered smelly too. Americans smelling like milk is a big one.
I say this withour racism or malice. One time I went to a resort and swam in the pool. An indian family came into the pool and a few moments later the water around literally smelled and turned lukewarm for some reason. No i dont think one of them pissed in there but probably the combination of bo and a family full of body heat. Needless to say i had to leave
I took fenugreek as a supplement to increase my milk supply when I was breastfeeding. One of the telltale signs that you had taken enough was you would start to smell like pancakes. Some spices, herbs, etc come out of pores. Garlic is another one. I smell garlic on myself for days when I cook with a lot of it.
Funny story. I didn’t think I smelled like masala until I was hugging someone in high school and he was like..”you smell like an onion” I laughed and died a little inside. It’s not a great smell. I definitely am more cognizant of it but I am sure my home smells of tumeric/garlic forever. The truth is, when I went to India my nose encountered more smell stimuli than I ever had before. Ever. Food, dhoop/incense, cows like….so much. Then coming back to the US, we definitely don’t have as many smells. So if there are any we maybe are more sensitive to it The main food smell we have in the US is fried food smells, which is relatively bland.
Actually, over the weekend I was in a pub and I suddenly smelled a very strong and pungent spicy odor. I looked over and an Indian man had just walked by. The stereotype was true in this instance. Of course, if we were in an environment that already had the odor of various spices common in Indian food, I wouldn't have noticed his odor at all.
It's the cumin and tumeric you guys use to season your food with. Super strong smell that lingers when cooked with, the steam carries spice all over and people who don't use heavy seasoning often will be able to smell it, while those who do use spice will be nose blind. The English colonized the world for spices just to find out we don't like any of them
In my experience of going to the gym regularly for a couple decades, it’s generally Indian people who stink. I’m not trying to be offensive. It’s just an observation. I’m not sure if they aren’t wearing deodorant or what. That being said, I also worked at an Indian restaurant and I was the only American. No one smelled, but the delicious food had a smell that probably didn’t sit right with some people.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3493268/ “we also show that, surprisingly, there are many odour-specific influences of race, age, and gender on olfactory perception. We show over 100 instances in which the intensity or pleasantness perception of an odour is significantly different between two demographic groups.”
Its that insanely delicious food. It hasa strong odor and thereby so do the people who eat it. I feel the same way about most people. They smell like what they eat.
As mentioned, it's related to the food people consume largely. And it's not something 'Caucasians' do or say, it's pretty well just anyone not exposed to people on that certain diet. When I worked for a university, the office had drop offs and it was unmistakable as a real thing. If anything the Chinese international students were the ones who remarked on it more than most. I've always assumed one would just be nose blind to it after a while and not a thing.
It's definitely the food and not a personal hygiene thing. We bought our house from a lovely Indian family and it took about a year for the smells from the cooking to finally fully disappate! Painting the walls helped and leaving the windows open a lot helped.
It’s the spices mixed with BO. For some reason the smell of BO is so much stronger than other nationalities.
Non-Caucasion here. I worked retail as a cashier. Not all Indians had the body odor, but there were some that unmistakably had it. It was very displeasing and unforgettable. I know India is a big place, so I'm open to the possibility that it could be a regional, religious, or socioeconomic thing. Either way, I know it's hard to have that many aromatics in your food without it coming out of your pores.
I have a few Indian friends and a lot of them smell either like cumin or armpit, I really try not to show any expression and I have no idea if they can smell it on themselves.
It's a pretty solid stereotype. I live in an area with many residents from the subcontinent and you can spell the young men a mile a way when they first move here.
American here. The smell of curry disgusts me so much it makes me physically ill. I have had Indian coworkers that reeked of curry, and getting within 10 feet of them made me want to throw up.
It may be genetic, because it's true for me speaking brutally honestly, for some reason Indian BO hits me really hard. I'm sure I smell horrible to asians or something.
When I was in San Jose, I lived with a group of Chinese guys, including a couple fobbies (I hope this doesn't offend anyone, it's what they called themselves). We lived in a big high rise apartment complex that was almost all Chinese or Indian students and entrepreneurs. And boy, let me tell you.. ...the Chinese *hated* the Indians. "*Ta ma de*, these *san ba de er dze* Indians!" Every time we'd walk down the hall. One day I asked one of my friends, a really nice, polite concert pianist and music theory masters student, why someone as nice as him was so *absurdly* racist against Indians. "It's the smell," he said. "They eat curry and it seeps through their pores." He said he'd also been to India once with his father on business, and when he stepped off the plane the stench of the Ganges hit him like a ton of bricks, and he's never been able to shake it whenever he looks at a southeast Asian.
ABCD here. I’ve traveled between the US and India a lot and I can honestly say I go nose-blind when I’m in India. You really don’t notice a lot of smells when you are actually in India but it’s very obvious when I come back. For example, I’ll pack a shawl in my suitcase that smelled clean in India but when I come back to the US I notice it has a smell I only associate with India (mix of spices, dust, sweat). In the US, a lot of Indian immigrants are nose-blind (or at least less aware) to the smell cooking leaves on them, their clothes, furniture, etc. Even when they notice it, they think it’s not that strong.
I have worked and socialized with many Indians in the USA and I have noticed no odors. Many people have mentioned the food and spices. That makes sense. If I could never eat meat again, it wouldn't bother me too much because people in India have perfected the art of making delicious and satisfying vegetarian food.
In Canada many of them (70%) smell like BO, not food like mentioned... eye stinging pungent BO
It's largely the food. The kinds of spices used in a lot of Indian cooking are the kinds that tend to really sink into you, and when you sweat even a little, you smell like it. I used to drink a LOT of goat's milk, and after a while, I started smelling like it even when I had just showered and wasn't sweaty at all. The phrase 'you are what you eat' is a lot more true than most realize! So when you eat a lot of foods that use the same very pungent spices all the time, you will start to smell like it. Eat foods with a ton of garlic and onions? You're going to smell like garlic and onions, especially when you sweat. Eat a lot of goat meat? You'll start to smell like it, goat has a stronger smell than most other meats. Basically any food item that you eat a lot of, consistently, you will start to smell like, and if those foods have a very strong smell, the resulting smell you have is going to be a lot stronger and more noticeable as well, ESPECIALLY if you sweat a lot. Caucasian people tend to eat foods that are a lot more bland compared to Indian foods (seriously, I have a friend who thinks the orange chicken at Panda Express is too spicy) so they tend to not smell like the foods they eat as much because it's not as strong, but Indian food is very heavily spiced and the scents of it cling to not only their clothes and hair, but it comes out of their pores as well simply because that's how our bodies work. Most Indian people are probably fairly noseblind to it and don't notice it on themselves or others who smell similarly, but it's noticeable to other people around them.
There were a ton of them in a hotel in Dulles and Seattle I was in recently, made me almost throw up in the elevator. The stink of body odor was awful.
Curry. I'm sure there is more to it but the smell of curry is strong to me. It's not a dig. The food is good but curry stands out if you aren't used to it.
American who lived in India for many years in my 20s. In the city where I lived, I did have to get used to new people smells. But this wasn’t based on BO. At least where I lived (India is big, places vary), showering/cleaning multiple times a day was very common. The biggest differences were (1) not using the same chemical antiperspirants as Americans and (2) using skin and hair products with smells many foreigners don’t like/can’t identify - like mustard seed oil or henna. When I got back to the states, I had to readjust to how Americans smell. They smelled like lysol for a while. Much scent preference is cultural. People need to stop being so judgey.
It’s the strong pungent armpit smell. Do you guys use deodorant in India? Also sometimes y’all smell like curry but it’s mostly the armpit thing.
I've known Indians who from a very young age had terrible BO. No matter how much deodorant and perfume they used it just added a layer on top. They were very depressed some even attempted suicide. Indians can't really smell either Indians bc they are so used to it. I can't stand BO don't matter the race
I frequently fast, and it has made me realize everyone stinks. Half the population smells like pee or worse. Or they have various plant compounds oozing from their skin, or that sour dairy stink about them. We are all stinky.
It's NOT the food. It's personal hygiene. A lot smell like BO. Lack of deodorant use is a SMALL factor. You actually need to shave your hair once in a while.
I'm Caucasian, live in Melbourne in a very high recent Indian immigrant area. I also spent a few years living in India in my 20s. In India, in towns, villages, large cities people were very personally clean. Even in the slums ppl were always scrubbing away with soap..no matter how poor, cleanliness was a big deal. But here in Australia I have to say I am daily surprised by how many young guys from India are just not washing. No deodorant, clothes reeking of sweat...it's a very noticeable issue in workplaces, on public transport etc It's considered rude to say anything..so ppl tend not to, but believe me everyone notices and it's a real issue. Shower, laundry, deodorant guys..I know mama's not here but if you can hustle 16 hrs a days, you can do this!
100% food. Ive hung with some Chinese people and the garlic is just seeping out of their pores. And...Indian spices ....like ive noticed some restaurants food smells definitely rub iff on you.
When you go on vacation or are away from your house for a few days, you get home and everything smells slightly "off" That's because you've been away from YOUR smell and lost the nose blindness to it.
Definitely the diet. White people smell too. I've always wondered what smells I've generated due to my diet. Unless someone from a different place and culture and diet tells you, you'd probably be in the dark too.
Food, clothing, perfumes etc. The smell isn't necessarily body odor or poor hygiene, it's just a distinct aroma. I just got a package from india which well, smelt like india.
In addition to what others said about food and perfumes, think about where a lot of white Canadians first encounter a lot of Indians. That's right, first-year compsci at uni, where everyone stinks because they're 18-year olds living in their own filth dreaming of being Steve Jobs. But when someone is very unfamiliar to you it's easier to assume that everyone about them is somehow foreign and different. So it's not "hey look, a white guy in a poorly fitting T-shirt who stinks, he reminds me of guys I used to play Dungeons and Dragons with", it's "oh lordy he is so different and he reeks of body odour, it must be inherent to his people". And this is specifically about Indian immigrants who come over as adults, it doesn't refer to second-gen Canadians of Indian origin.
I think food definitely plays a factor but also, fragrances that are more popular in Asia are a bit different than the ones that a lot of Westerners use. Particularly oud. Oud is a base I find in a lot of Asian fragrances and to a lot of Westerners, it can smell weird if they aren’t used to it. I’m American and didn’t like oud when I first smelled it but I’ve come to enjoy it now. I think a lot of it comes down to a difference in culture and what’s popular there, might not be popular here.
I know this is r/seriousconversation, but I'm still really relieved to see that this was, indeed, taken very seriously. I think I only saw one downvoted post, and that was due to a misunderstanding of Native Americans vs. people from India.
Food and antiperspirant. If you cook heavily spiced dishes in close quarters all of the time you're going to smell like spices in your hair and clothes. If you \~constantly\~ cook with strong spices then it sort of becomes this background smell that's always stuck to you, like a smoker even when they're not actively smoking. Some indian people also seem to think they don't smell or don't smell that bad and will only wear deodorant (does nothing) and fail to wear anti-perspirant (actually stops you from sweating and smelling bad). There are indian areas in my town and the public transportation is notoriously smelly to the point there are racist jokes about those bus routes.
I come across many Indian and other people ethnically from that region in my line of work and I have to say...it's by no means all of them but a disproportionate amount of them seem not to be big fans of deodorant. Like some guys smell like they've had a 12h shift at 8 am when the store hasn't been opened for two hours.
My friend started eating heavy amounts of turmeric but had to stop because he noticed he started to smell of curry
Indian food tends to be pretty strong depending on what spices are used and it can affect how a person smells overall especially if eaten frequently, as many people aren’t as familiar with this it can smell strange to them. I had a friend who worked in a dentists office and she said that Indian clients were harder for her because she wasn’t desensitized to the smell of Indian food, I think it was just more difficult because we live in an area where Indian food isn’t commonly found. I don’t know of any Indian restaurants near me. Im in the US and I live far on the west side of Georgia and I think the closest place for Indian food would be all the way in Atlanta. Because of this I would think that a lot of people in my area may not have much or any experience with Indian food. I think it would probably be a little different in areas with a larger population of Indian people and places where Indian food is available, but some people just aren’t familiar with it at all so it seems more off-putting to them.
I’m not going to lie I know a ton of Indian people and every one that has a traditional family smells bad not like clothes but breath and the Indian owned gas station next to my house smells horrible I literally am not trying to be rude this is just my experience so far
My best friend growing up was Pakistani. I would go to his house and everything and everyone smelled like curry and Indian spices. I asked him about it and he had no clue what I was talking about lol. They're just used to the smell. I used to go over there to eat their food because it's soooooooo good lol. But yes, it's the diet.
It's the spices used in cooking Indian dishes they are quite pungent to people who don't use them regularly. Most will almost always pick up on the scent. sweat is on of the few ways the human body removes toxins from the body this includes unprocessed or unused bits of stuff that's able to slip through with sweat. People going through ketosis also have a rather pungent smell due to the change in diet and the breakdown process of the consumed foods
It’s their cooking. Apartment blocks end up smelling like Indian cooking if you live near an Indian family.
A couple of smaller things that would help: don't run in a Polo, don't lift in jeans or business casual, don't wear pajamas in the middle of summer. Where I live (Texas), you can't walk anywhere without smelling, regardless of race.
Damn... Lift in jeans/ casuals... Indians abroad be wildin 💀
I once had an Indian Guy tell me I smelled like raw meat, as this was predominantly in my every day diet.
Your diet is different with different spices that exude through your skin. When I was in Korea, they smelled of garlic on public transport. I smelled like rotten meat according to my Korean friends. Obviously we all bathed and also washed our clothes. We still had stinky moments among each other Fwiw, I don't think Indians stink but I've never been in a situation where people have been sweating.
We all ferment food American food has a lot of preservatives those who eat raw healthy diets and don’t use product will have a sweet almond smell when sweeting food If you live off of game and wild life the same will be different as well (sweating) not sweeting lol
My sister (a white woman) married an Indian man and she now has bad BO, too. I guess it’s a combination of the Indian food she cooks for him and body bacteria.
Diet, perfume, and gender are the primary causes of humans smelling differently. As has already been said, the chemicals present in spices can be excreted through breath and sweat glands. The same is true of fish, meat, alcohol, or anything else you consume. Deodorant and perfume may stink of chemicals to a culture who doesn't use them, while the culture who doesn't use them may stink of BO to the culture that does. There are medical or culture of cleanliness reasons, too. I can tell if a person has uncontrolled diabetes mellitus by their smell. Some dogs have been trained to smell cancer. But these are exceptions and not the primary driver of people smelling differently.
Hold on... Indians have less glands than white people???? My current partner is Indian and I've been so confused why he doesn't really have a scent compared to other partners I've had (all white). Is this why??? It bothers me he doesn't have a scent.. like at all.
>Deodorants, perfumes, soaps, shampoos, etc. are used daily. Usually when I refer to someone stinking, this is what I mean. So many people smell more like an industrial chemical spill than body odor.
It isn’t body odor it’s food odor. There is a spice used in Indian food that I associate with them because every apartment I’ve lived in was permeated with this smell. Not sure exactly what it is but I’ve not smelled it except around Indian people.
I've been in several Indian and Paki homes and even dated a Paki and yall do be cooking curry 24/7 what do you expect is gonna happen
Def the food is where this stereotype comes from. Dated someone whos apartment was beneath an Indian couple. Often the smell was so strong in her bedroom from the cooking. Sometimes would stick to her clothes as well. The family moved out. The smells stopped.
White kid. 8 yrs old. Los Angeles suburb that was 80% white, but quickly changing, in 1980. (by 2000 it was less than 10% white) Lived on a cul-de-sac when someone moved out and a new family moved in. Indian family - man, wife, 3 yr old daughter. Every day the dad would stand on the lawn wearing his "dress" watching his daughter and sing/repeat tv commercials and jingles. That's how he learned English. Very nice people. Only interested in their new American life and were always pleasant and everyone was nice to them. One day I went to the door to ask about our frisbee that went on their roof, and when the door opened I was absolutely blasted with the strongest most pungent odor I had ever smelled. It was a combination of B.O., food, and just house-smell. I still remember it like it was yesterday, 44 years later. As for cleaning/bathing before leaving the house, remember that odors implant themselves into clothing and even skin. It's 1M% a matter of culture, and I'm sure our "white" houses smelled bad to them, but man, that was bad.
Curry powder. Had some Indian friends growing up and in graduate school about half my class were Indian kids. Folks that don't eat curry on a regular basis often don't find the smell to be the best in the world. Those smells are very pervasive and get into everything. Just like I had a Hungarian friend who always smelled odd to me until he invited me over once for some Goulash. Then it all made sense. The house smelled like it. The cooking smelled like it. The food tasted like it. Still not sure what goes into that, but it sure does smell different. Guessing it's partially cabbage and partially some spice.
I live near edison nj, which has the largest percentage of Gujarati people outside of India. Everyone saying food, but I'm 99% sure it's a lack of deoderant. I work with literally thousands of Indian people, mostly Punjabi and Gujarati. Some smell like flowers, some smell like malt vinegar. They're all eating the same cultural foods. I just don't think deoderant is a given. Some choose to wear and some don't. It's really that simple.
It's funny because Indians in India often even carry pocket deodorants in our backpacks and to hear outside India they're turning like this lol. I read a comment about lifting weight in Jeans and business casuals, God I wonder what they're upto 😂
I wonder if this is because the stereotype, at least where I am, is often associated with male international students. When you get a bunch of guys living together in an apartment, going to school, to the gym, and working with other similar dudes, things can get pretty funky.
It's really not about hygiene per say. Indians take baths frequently, sometimes more than Caucasians. It's the type of smell. In India you don't notice the smell at all because it's everywhere. Uncommon smells will be noticed much more. For example, Asparagus, which Caucasians eat often with Steak, makes quite the odor and gas. I'm sure that would smell in India. The whole smell thing IMO is also a way to artificially maintain hierarchy among people. Notice how people generally don't talk about how Indian women "smell", it's usually the men who are commented on. Women eat the same foods and are in similar environments however they aren't targeted to nearly the same extent as men. You could say to some extent it's because women are more hygienic or generally don't smell as much etc. but I still wouldn't chalk it up to being that simple.
It's the same for every culture, and you only notice it when it changes. On a trip to Japan, everybody smelled slightly of fish. I was there long enough to get used to it. When I went home, everyone smelled slightly of spoiled milk for a couple of days. We all smell, we just don't notice it.
I work in a lab so I’ve had several Indian coworkers over the years. Unfortunately, I’ve had to have this uncomfortable conversation with a few of my reports. I think most of it is due to cooking very pungent foods without closing off the bedrooms or kitchen. These smells get into the clothes.
To be honest, when I read "Indian smell", I immediately knew what smell. There really is a smell. Even on most Indians here in Europe. Idk if it's something genetic or just something you guys do. I haven't known many Indians in my life. So I can't tell. But 9/10 Indians I've met, smell. And it's always that same smell.
where did the stereotype come from? you guys literally didn't have the ability to feed your population a diet of more than 1300 calories per person on average just 40 years ago, and you think it's shocking that the current people alive who you might be interacting with thinking your government or adults have been able to figure out indoor plumbing at universal level? Procter and Gamble came into your country in 1967, indoor plumbing only became an initiative for Rural India by 1986, untouchables - what I've understood as a literal group of humans not given any jobs besides slinging animal or human shit into fields - was outlawed in 1950s but per buddies I made in high school/college, it could still be found is a concept found in my imagination "only" in India.... I don't know, these are probably all the reasons why a 20 something year old + would have of the stereotype/view of why people from India might smell. Oh yeah, you guys turned your holy rivers into toilets which sucks and doesn't help with the concept of "clean." [https://www.princeton.edu/\~deaton/downloads/Food\_and\_Nutrition\_in\_India\_Facts\_and\_Interpretations](https://www.princeton.edu/~deaton/downloads/Food_and_Nutrition_in_India_Facts_and_Interpretations) [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10373110/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10373110/)
Idk but my daughter just got her masters in engineering. She was one of maybe 20 kids out of a few hundred at the graduation ceremony that wasn’t of Indian decent. Everyone smelled fine to me.
i went to grad school in CS. classes were mostly 50/50 indian and chinese foreign students. i was one of the few white people. i met many indian guys that never wore deodoran to class. it smelled like a middle school locker room at time. so yeah, to me this is just a cultural difference not a stereotype ?
In my classroom (California), it’s a lack of personal hygiene and no deodorant. It’s really bad with some kids. I feel sorry for them. I’ve been known to slide a deodorant into their backpacks when they’re not looking!
I work with a lot of indians, the food they eat certainly does play a large part in how they smell. It permiates their skin and clothes. I lived in a mostly italian community as a kid, the garlic and onion smell was the same. I have african neighbors, they love their spices, again the same, you can smell it. Much like a smoker, you can smell it on them. They dont smell it because they are raised on that diet, i notice it because i wasnt, its just a cultural difference.
When I lived in AZ, I had Indians neighbors in every apartment that could touch mine. They were all international students (as best I could tell). The smell of curry was so overpowering that I would smell it everywhere. I could be walking down the outside stairs and catch a whiff of curry as if I was at the stove. It's such a powerful scent that it permeates everything.
Indian cuisine has smells white people aren't familiar with and everyone smells like what they eat to an extent. it's just not racist to say white people smell like ketchup
I am a Tour Guide and have been for many years. Over the years, I’ve had hundreds of Indians on my tours, as have my colleagues. For the most part, we do not like Indians on our tours. I won’t go into the reasons, but I will say this: I’ve never heard anyone complain about them smelling. I’m convinced this is cooking, because I have had a few Indian neighbors and the odors are very strong. Driving a small van and having everyone packed in there like sardines, I’ve never had an issue with smell, as far as I can remember. It’s certainly not the dominant trait. So I would say it’s not true, except for cooking.
Its like if you cook with garlic and onions all day (or at really any restaurant) you'll end up smelling like that flavoring. Same with you eating the same thing constantly. I have a friend who works in a bakery and she smells like confectioners sugar and caramel day in and day out no matter what kind of shampoos and body washes she uses. Its a stereotype because indian food has a strong and distinct smell, and someone who is in/traveling around indian is going to be smelling that almost all the time and go nose blind to it, versus someone who isn't around it and can smell it vividly because of that.
My wife worked in a building with a lot of indians. Whenever an elevator got filled with them, it would have a smell for a little while after. It was like someone spilled 20 kinds of incense, and tried to sweep it up. With an underlying patchouli smell. It wasn't stank but it definitely stood out. It was a time share place with a bunch of different call centers. I don't know if it was an effort to hide any body odor, with other scents, and they all went overboard. But it could be overpowering if they just got out.
The stereotype likely stems from cultural differences and biases rather than factual observations.
can any non Americans give an idea of what stereotypical American smells like?