Kannauj’s Mitti Attar: The Scent Of Rain

Fragrances have memories. Every scent you are ever hit with brings to the surface some of the most potent scenes from your life. We associate fragrances with people, places, and even specific objects. And how do we forget the scent of changing seasons?

Each season comes with its own scent. In springtime, the blossoms of blooming flowers spread their sweet bouquet. Come summer, the fresh grass and the heated earth give off a heady musk.

Petrichor is the quintessential fragrance of the monsoon. When the heat reaches its peak, most of us long for the rain, and the instant hit of wet earth to our noses lets us escape into our happy memories.

Bottling Rain

When the first drops of rain hit the earth, petrichor rises and brings memories bubbling to the surface. Kannauj, the Indian perfume capital, is the place you go for a bottle of this indescribable, heady perfume. Yes, that's right. A bottle of petrichor is exactly what this town in Uttar Pradesh, nearly two hours from the capital Lucknow, offers you.

The mitti attar of Kannauj is reaching out to the world, thanks to the efforts of the centuries-old perfumery, Indian Naturals. "We have been in the business for 200 years, and I'm an 8th-generation perfumer," said Pranav Kapoor of Indian Naturals. Walking through the dusty lanes of this Uttar Pradesh town on the banks of the Ganga River, you see many elements that make it the perfume capital of the country. From dilapidated old perfume houses to vendors selling tiny, beautiful bottles of attars in the market, and flowers, so many flowers, Kannauj is a scent connoisseur's mecca.

You can take home a glass vial of rain-kissed earth or bottle a potent and sweet jasmine–a perfect nighttime scent. You never know which bottle would hit you with what memory. It could be a soothing sandalwood that takes you back to your grandmother's house or a rich rose that transports you to your father's garden. The potency of these attars are such that a single whiff evokes some of the strongest memories, and one drop lingers on the skin for days.

Kannauj's Bara Bazaar transports you to medieval times, with the bustling lanes dotted with old shops. Inside the maze of the main market, you can pick and choose between gorgeous glass-cut bottles of attars and ruhs (essential oils) or the many rolled incense sticks lined up for you. There are a lot of tales that trace the introduction of attars to Kannauj. But the most well-known one dates back to the time of the Mughal empire.

Legendary Whiff

According to a fascinating legend recounted in "Ain-I-Akbari," the historical biography of Akbar written by Abul Fazl, the origins of the perfume industry in the city have an intriguing story. As the tale goes, a servant working at Jahangir's palace in Agra made an intriguing discovery. He noticed a few drops of fragrant rose oil floating on the surface of Noor Jehan's bathing pool. This observant servant, hailing from Kannauj, surmised that the oil must have been unintentionally produced when rose petals came into contact with warm water. Inspired by this serendipitous encounter, he is said to have devised a method of extracting the fragrant oil through a process of steam and condensation.

Brewing Earth's Scent

"Earlier, the mud from the banks of the Ganges would be collected, but now my artisans use broken clay pots and kulhads to extract the scent. The distillation method is unchanged," explained Kapoor. In Kannauj, the tradition of distillation uses little or no machinery and follows the old, painstakingly long methods even today. With their unwavering dedication, skilled artisans tend to fires beneath weathered copper cauldrons or degs, creating this extraordinary perfume. The distillation process, known as deg-bhapka, unfolds meticulously and patiently, untouched by the presence of industrial machinery or modern advancements.

The craftsmen carefully place fragments of half-baked clay into the deg instead of vetiver roots and flower petals. These clay pieces are then submerged in water, and a lid is firmly secured on top, sealed with mud. Igniting a wood or cow-dung fire underneath, they commence the delicate alchemy. As the fire crackles, the artisans sink a bhapka filled with sandalwood oil into the water trough, connecting it to the deg through a hollow bamboo pipe. Through this conduit, the intoxicating vapours emanate from the simmering pot, merging with the rich sandalwood oil base in the receiver. The process unfolds unhurriedly, with periodic adjustments. The receiver is switched every few hours, ensuring the cessation of condensation, while the deg is cooled down using damp cloths. No shortcuts are taken, and no corners are cut.

Perfume Tourism

As the only remaining hub of perfumeries, one man is reviving the dwindling art of perfume-making in Kannauj through what he calls Perfume Tourism.

"I have refurbished my 120-year-old ancestral haveli, 24 MG Road, to include a fragrance gallery, a perfume bar, and a courtyard suite where guests can stay for the experience. It is a first-of-its-kind immersive experience that we're offering," said Kapoor.

The experiential includes an exploration of the farms where guests can take part in the plucking process of roses, jasmine, henna flowers, morpankhi, and other seasonal flowers. Guests can then observe the process of brewing at the distilleries before going to the perfume bar to create their own scents.

"The suite used to be where foreign perfumers stayed earlier, and it has now been opened up after 25 years and prepared for guests." Being a chef, Kapoor also has a seven-course fragrance and flavour pairing menu for guests.

Vestiges Of A Lost Art

Strolling through the distillery is one olfactory encounter you can't imagine if you have not experienced it. Since July and August are jasmine season, the corridors are aromatic with the musky sweetness of the flower at night, while the nostalgia-laced petrichor embraces your senses during the day.

Kannauj has long been spearheading the perfume-making tradition of India, with the city’s fragrance also protected under the GI-tag. But ever since demands for cheap mixed-up fragrances have increased, the pure art of perfume-making has been dwindling. If you look inside your own closet, you will hardly find a bottle of attar in the melange of deodorant and branded perfume bottles.

The sybaritic lifestyle of the Mughals spread the olfactory lust amongst the Indian subcontinent, with the northern cities of Lucknow, Kannauj and Agra being the scent strongholds.

Kannauj, with its rich deposit of alluvial soil, perfect for harvesting vetiver, roses and jasmine, was already in the game before the Mughals amplified demand and brought more attention to the tradition of perfumery.

Even with the high-end luxury fragrances of Europe catching customers as quickly as they are, the imperial alchemy that births liquid gold into glass bottles and makes you remember your childhood cannot be recreated entirely in Western labs.

Applying Attars The Right Way

The best way to apply oil-based attars is to be stingy with it. Don’t overdo it, as the potency of attars increases with time, movement, and body heat. Rub a few drops of attar on your pulse points such as the insides of your wrists, behind earlobes and the tips of your hair and beard. To create a unique individual scent, try layering with some eau de parfum spray on your clothes. As the day progresses, your attar would intensify, creating a heady, entirely customised fragrance.