I remember seeing the movie 'Scent of a woman' starring Al Pacino as a retired blind Colonel of the US army. If I remember Al Pacino makes a comment that I wish I had a woman in bed and got up in the morning with her smell pervading the bed. Does smell have a meaning as far as sex is concerned? More so for a man, the smell of a woman can be intoxicating.

The theory of smell or to use the scientific terminology pheromone is nothing new. Basically, it's a chemical substance secreted by certain animals like insects which often functions as an attraction for the opposite sex.

Can this be extended to the human being as well? Scientists are not too sure but some people do feel it has a bearing on a relationship. It is not an outlandish thought that humans in a subconscious manner may use the scent of the opposite sex partner to forge a closer relationship. Catching on this are some enterprising people in the USA and India who organize get-togethers that help people pick partners based on scent. These parties are different from normal parties that introduce men and women for friendship and marriage.

Many parties are now being organized in New York, Los Angeles and Mumbai where the party takes on a revolutionary hue. I attended one such party which involves the girl's sweatshirt or T-shirt being put in a plastic bag and given to the prospective men. The men sniff the sweatshirt from a number of them on a table and decide which one they prefer.

In case any man likes the aroma emanating from a particular T-shirt he will inform the organizer of the party. The next involves the man's photo with a brief being projected on a screen. Now it's up to the girl to accept him as a date. Such parties require good organizational skills and plenty of pre-party work. I smelled a particular sweatshirt and liked the smell and signaled my acceptance. I was delighted when I was introduced to the girl who was from Assam the 'Far East' of India. Whatever the scientific basis of this the fact is that these get-togethers take romance to a volatile level. It's like going back to the primal age.

Research studies have shown that the reaction of men and women can be dictated by a set of immune response genes. The human nose is able to pick up this incredibly small chemical signal. I will, however, concede that though the scent is a powerful aphrodisiac, yet to rely only on scent is not the end all and be all of life. It is just another part of the varied experience in life.