The Project
Excerpts from Fragrant Harvest
Journal 3:Visit to Kannauj and Bangalore
Part 8: Farewell to Kannauj
 We
returned to Mr. Amarnath Tanden's shop at 11:00 A.M. as he wanted to show
me a few things that we did not have time to see on the previous day. These
included a 16th century book containing formulas used by his father for
compounding attars. It was a rare family heirloom from the past that had
been put into practical use. His father had made pencil notations in the
book that indicated the dates when he had tried the various formulas. He
also displayed a lovely glass casket from the Mogul period which had been
used to hold bottles of attar. Finally he showed me a giant leather bottle
that must have been able to hold 100 lbs of attar that had been made several
centuries earlier. These antique articles helped create a picture in my
mind of how this industry has been continuing on in an unbroken line from
the distant past to the present. He then very kindly presented me with a
few choice samples of attars still made by his perfume house.
Before leaving we were shown the room in which one more special product
is made using fragrant flowers. It was the Indian version of the French
enfleurage process. Enfleurage as practiced in France was a method of extracting
the oil of delicate flowers like jasmine and tuberose which continue to
produce perfume long after being cut. These flowers were individually placed
on a glass plate containing a thin layer of purified odorless animal fat
called a chassis. These plates were stacked one on top of another and the
flowers left for 24 hours so that all the perfume present in them and exhaled
from them would become absorbed in the fat. Then these flowers were plucked
off by hand and a new batch was placed on the fat. This process was repeated
up to 36 times. This saturated fat was know as a Pomade.
The Indian method uses cleaned and husked sesame seeds in place of the
fat. Fresh jasmine, keora, rose and other flowers are spread in alternate
layers on the floor of a cemented pit. Exhausted flowers are replaced by
fresh ones every 10-12 hours until the seeds are saturated with the perfume.
The fragrance laden seeds are then placed in old fashioned stone grinding
mill run by a bullock moving in circles and the oil is expressed at very
low temperatures. Approximately 1300 lbs of flowers will be used to saturated
500 lbs of seeds. The oil produced from these fragrance saturated seeds
will be designated as Sira(high grade) oil. Two lower grades are also produced
called Baju(middle grade) and Raji(low grade). They are products obtained
by using the spent flowers of Sira Oil . This oils are primarily used for
the production of hair oils and cosmetics.
From Mr. Tanden's shop we proceeded to the home of Mr. Awasthi whose
wife had prepared a truly delicious lunch for us. The humble and gracious
hospitality of these lovely people remain as a very special memory of my
trip to India. There is so much love, courtesy, and kindness in the way
they treat visitors to the home. Such treatment comes out of an age old
tradition and it warms ones heart to the core. In these simple settings
one feels more than a king or queen. It is a direct spiritual communication
which passes from heart-to-heart which requires no words or thoughts to
justify or explain. After finishing our lunch, we worked on the translation
from Hindi to English of Akbar Aini(The Reflection of Akbar) a work actually
written in the time of the great Mogul ruler in which a chapter is found
describing the perfumers trade and the use of perfumes by the royal court
of that era. Mr. Ramakant gave many illuminating comments on the observations
of the court historians concerning their understanding of this subject.
He found that their comments about raw materials, their harvesting or collection,
etc. were based on sound common sense. I hope that in the future we can
produce a commentary on this work as it gives a rich insight into the state
of the art and craft of perfumery of that time.
Later in the afternoon we visited the home of Mr. Subhas Gupta, the Director
of Export and Marketing for Beniram Moolchand a well respected perfume house
of Kannauj. This company, along with Jagat Aroma Oils Distillery, has developed
some international markets for their aromatic products. Their product line
was impressive. Essential Oils, Attars, Masala Agarbatties, Aromatic Distilled
Waters, Herbal Carrier Oils, Aromatherapy Combinations, etc. all formed
part of their export business. In the adjacent factory we were able to see
traditional stills that had some modifications geared at improving the quality
and quantity of hydro-distilled oils. Attention was also being paid to developing
more sophisticated packing.
This type of energy and foresight is required if the international market
is to be tapped and this ancient industry is to be preserved. It is going
to require an all around creative effort of those living in Kannauj to come
up with a plan to preserve and save their art and craft and perhaps even
rescue some of the knowledge that is being lost with the older generation.
From what some of the other distillers told me, many more exotic fragrances
were being prepared in the past, but their production has been abandoned
because the market has changed. In order to preserve the old wisdom it will
be necessary to set up a research center specifically geared towards this
industry where standards for quality can be established and tests can be
developed on the medicinal qualities of oils etc. Good ideas need to come
forth for packaging that will appeal to foreign markets yet capture the
mystique of India. Such a center could have facilities where people from
abroad could comfortably stay. At this center seminars on aromatherapy could
be held, visits to flower producing areas could be made, aryuvedic massage
and therapies could be offered, products of local make could be displayed,
etc.
Our next visit was to the factory of Munnalal and Sons where we met with
the current proprietor Mr. Patali. He had a nice establishment bustling
with activity. He explained to us how his company was producing the Hina
attar. After hydro-distilling the herb/spice/root mixture in the traditional
still it was poured into another copper vessel that contained musk, ambergris,
and saffron. A special lid was fitted on top of this unit preventing any
escape of vapors and this mixture was subjected to a very low heat for twelve
hours so that the very costly ingredients could be totally absorbed into
the mixture. It is important to note that these attars which are a combination
of many botanicals become richer with time and so the more they age the
better.
Mr. Patali though old in years, was a man possessed of tremendous vigor
and bright intelligence. He was one of the most informative people we met
and clearly explained to me some confusions I had about the production of
different grades of the same attar. He made it clear that these were the
result of customer specifications and were the direct result of the number
of times a fresh batch of flowers was put into the still and distilled into
the receiver. This could be 5, 10, or 15 times depending on the demands
of the customer and the eventual use of the oil. His willingness to give
clear details on his operation was much appreciated and one could sense
from the activity in his compound that there was a deep commitment to producing
quality products of great purity.
The day was completed when we returned to the FFDC facility for a slide
show of Mr. Awasthi's images. He has already done some impressive documentation
work on the fragrance industry of Kannauj and I realized that this work
could easily be entrusted to him as he has excellent photographic skills
and is on-site. He is able and willing to travel to the various places where
oils are being extracted at the different seasons so this will reduce the
number of trips I will have to make to North India to photograph the dynamics
of the attar industry. I feel most fortunate that a local person of his
calibur is willing to help with the project because I am beginning to realized
that there is a huge territory to cover, both physically and informational,
to produce a work that will do justice to the subject.
 Early
the next morning at 6:00 A.M. Ramakant and I took a tonga ride to the Ganges
river and got there just in time for sunrise. On our way back from this
enchanting site we came to a roadside temple where an elderly Sadhu was
picking tagetes flowers to offer to the deity within. We asked his permission
to take a photograph. He was pleased to oblige. Ramakant told me something
very interesting about this flower. Its main season of harvest comes during
the festival of Dussera which is in the month of October. This festival
celebrates the homecoming of Rama after his victory over Ravana, the king
of Lanka. This story is recounted in the Indian epic, the Ramayana. When
he came to his kingdom he ordered that the homes of all the people be decorated
with a garland of Tagetes and Mango leaves above the door. This was done
as part of a purification ceremony.
Now, in modern terms, it has been found that certain chemical components
in the Tagetes flowers and Mango leaves do in fact help purify the environment
as they contain chemical compounds that are effective against bacteria,
flies, cockroaches and nematodes. One of its primary components is ocimene
which is extracted by molecular distillation and sold on the international
market for its beneficial effects in cosmetics. Ramakant told me the modern
scientist who studies the ancient stories and traditions with an open mind
often discovers the use of specific plants mentioned therein often has a
strong scientific base. There can be no doubt that people of the past were
keen observers of nature as their lives were totally dependent on living
in harmony with their immediate environment. Their clothes, houses, medicines,
foods, cosmetics, etc. were in most instances derived from things obtained
in the local area so their dependence upon nature's gifts was not a luxury
but a necessity. It was only natural that they should speak of these botanical
treasures with a great deal of reverence and respect but beneath their appreciation
of them was a practical wisdom that helped people to live more healthfully
and happily.
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Updated: 5/26/2006
Copyright (C) 1998 by Christopher McMahon.
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