The Scent of Nature

“The true beauty of a fragrance, it can teleport you to the place where it belongs.”

Ittars can be created with any natural fragrances. Be it flowers, spices, natural condiments, fragrant woods and even nature's soil.

One sense that binds us to nature instantly is the sense of smell. The fragrance of flowers, the freshness of morning grass, the subtle fragrance of wood and the soothing smell of wet earth. These natural fragrances connect humans to the universe with a deeper understanding and appreciation for the finer things that nature has bestowed upon us.

Living in a world where Chanel No. 5, Davidoff Cool Water, J’adore by Dior can be wiffed on the high end streets and strong alcoholic fragrances of different deodorants like axe, brut etc. run in every corner; the natural fragrances are getting overpowered by the synthetic ones.

The oldest form of perfume “Attar” was made with the authentic idea to capture the natural fragrances in a bottle, so the smell can be worn by its true admirer. Wearing the fragrance of flowers would make the person feel closer to them always. That is the true beauty of a fragrance, it can teleport you to the place where it belongs. Wearing a rose perfume, you can feel yourself standing in a rose garden.

Attar, also known as “Itra” or “Ittar” which means ‘scent’ in Arabic, is an organic fragrance oil derived mainly derived from botanical sources. Though there are several stories about Attar’s origin, but Jahangir the Mughal emperor is said to be the first patron of this fragrance oil industry. As Noor Jahan, Jahangir’s wife used to bathe in water perfumed with rose petals, Jahangir encouraged experiments with natural scents leading to the art of attar making.

Attar’s are completely organic, sustainable to nature and their fragrances last longer than alcoholic fragrances. Yet in the commercial world, its attars’ market that is overshadowed by the big industries dealing with perfumes.

Letting the fragrance guide me to the reason behind this fading natural scent, I landed in the oldest shop of Attar in the capital city of India.

Gulab Singh Johrimal, the oldest perfume shop in Delhi was founded in 1816. The shelves stacked with beautiful glass bottles filled with colourful liquids and the amalgamation of unique fragrances surrounded the entire shop. Mr. Gundhi one of the present shop-owners took us through the time portal. From the oldest fragrance of Rose, Jasmine and Sandalwood Oils to the modern day fragrances made by mixing different scents together in varying quantities. This attar shop had over 150 fragrances but only a dozen traditional attars. To this Mr. Gundhi says, “Earlier people used to buy attars for themselves. Today customers want a strong-smelling scent that will attract the attention of those around them.”

Be it the change of times or the easy availability of synthetic products, attars market is limited to people looking for something organic and authentic in the form of fragrance oil.

"Making pure ittars is the product of skilled craftsmanship. The flowers must be plucked at the crack of dawn and processed before the sun rises as the fragrance fades away with the rise of the sun. We have distilleries amidst flower fields," says Mr Gundhi.

Mr. Gundhi also informed us that his shop has been visited by top most celebrities and public figures. He adds, “We use pure sandalwood oil for our attars which is a little expensive but also make attars using synthetic versions as per the customer’s demand.”

Even though the tides must be high for the attar markets, it hasn’t failed to grasp the attention of those looking for unique natural scents. But, the receding market value of this industry can only be blamed on consumer products. Synthetic perfumes are pushing these organic distilleries towards closure.

“We use pure sandalwood oil for our attars which is a little expensive but also make attars using synthetic versions as per the customer’s demand.”

It is not surprising that in the times of global warming, when mankind is a threat to nature, humans are inclined towards everything synthetic and harmful to earth’s atmosphere. To save these exquisite scents from getting lost with time and faded with the overpowering smell of consumerism, we should definitely do our bit towards nature by wearing perfumes as sustainable and earthly as the source of the scent.