We’ve ridden trains for considerable distance in India...quite the experience. The yelling of “chai...chai...chai!” and “chicken biriyani...mutton biriyani...biriyani!” still ring in my years after years.
Every so often, I will encounter something, not necessarily from India, but it presents a remembrance of all the unique smells of India.
From burning human flesh, to saffron, to curry, to open piles of human feces, dead dogs, live cattle...nothing smells like India.