Like many smaller Indian cities, Kannauj is wedged somewhere between past and present. Kannauj is a four-hour drive from Agra and just shy of two hours from historic Lucknow, a former princeling state governed by the Nawabs of Oudh. Known locally in Hindi as degh-bhapka, the artisanal method uses copper stills fueled by wood and cow dung. Kannauj has been concocting attar (also known as ittr) for over 400 years-more than two centuries before Grasse, in France’s Provence region, emerged as a perfume juggernaut. Renowned perfume houses in Europe use Kannauj attar-be it rose, vetiver, jasmine, and others-as a layer, a compelling chord in the composition of modern perfumery. The scent manages to harmonize sweet, spice, smoke, and damp and whisks one off to an otherworldly realm. Shamama, another coveted invention, is a distilled blend of 40 or more flowers, herbs, and resins that takes days to make and months to age. Kannauj produces these, as well as the enigmatic mitti attar, which evokes the scent of earth after a rainfall thanks to baked alluvial clay in the distillation. ( Frankincense trees-of biblical lore-are being tapped out for essential oils.) Trotted out by season, attars can be both warm (cloves, cardamom, saffron) and cooling (jasmine, vetiver, marigold). They strike intense floral, woodsy, musky, smoky, or grassy notes. Unauthorized use is prohibited.Įqually enchanting to men and women, attars have an androgynous quality. The scent of a droplet lingers pleasantly on the skin, sometimes for days. Unlike modern perfumes, which have alcohol as a carrier or solvent-because it’s inexpensive, neutral, and easily diffused-attars traditionally use sandalwood oil, making them unctuous and highly absorptive. Rooted in the Latin per and fume (through smoke), perfume got its start with humans crushing and infusing botanicals directly into oil or water. The aroma of attarĪttar is old-world perfumery. Sought after by both Mughal royals and everyday folk in ancient India’s fragrance-obsessed culture, Kannauj attar scented everything from wrists to food, fountains to homes.Īlthough attars fell out of fashion in the 20th century, Kannauj perfumers continue to ply their craft the same old-fashioned way-recently awakening a new generation, at home and abroad, to the allure of its sensual scents. For centuries Kannauj (pronounced kunh-nowj), in northeast India’s Ganges belt, has been crafting oil-based botanical perfumes called attar using time-tested distillation methods.
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