When Divakaruni moved to the United States, she sought to abandon the smells of her childhood in favor of acculturation. She realized this is a mistake when she has a child of her own. He eventually comes to appreciate the ability of smells to comfort, bring joy, and motivate. One smell in particular she talked about was how the smell of iodine reminded her that "love sometimes hurts while it's doing its job." In raising his own offspring, he intentionally sought to replicate the "smell technique" with his own twist, in the hope that his children would derive similar benefits. An example is how she filled the house with the scent of spices and sang American and Indian tunes with her