The Scent of Grounded Change

An olfactory data experience exploring how the cultural meaning of rain in Bangalore has shifted alongside measurable ecological transformation of the city’s land. The work brings together two datasets: forest cover decline and built-up land expansion, and a tonal analysis of monsoon-related newspaper headlines coded into celebration, relief, disruption, and disaster. As permeable land decreases and impervious surfaces increase, rain interacts with the ground differently—altering both environmental conditions and public narrative.

Visitors move through a spatial installation structured around changing ground conditions. Each section presents selected land-use statistics alongside curated headlines about monsoon arrival. At the centre of each zone, a distinct petrichor composition mutates according to land condition, shifting from rich organic depth to mineral sharpness and muted earth. Petrichor becomes the sensory mediator between ecological change and cultural perception, inviting visitors to consider how transformations of land reshape not only infrastructure, but meaning itself.