Kannauj's Attar Reinvention

From crafting the most fragrant attars to creating signature fine fragrances for the rich and famous, the new-gen perfumers of Kannauj are competing on the world stage.

- AJITA SHASHIDHAR

IT’S BARELY 10A.M. and the historical town of Kannauj along the sandy banks of Ganga is already blazing hot. As we walk along its narrow by-lanes flanked by ancient havelis on either side, the only respite from heat is the divine fragrance of rose petals that engulfs the ancient town known for its perfumery. The fragrance gets intense as we draw closer to the 200-year-old perfume distillery of fifth-generation perfumer Pranjal Kapoor, owner of M.L. Ramnarain Perfumers.

Kannauj’s perfumery dates back to the Vedic era when its aromatic substances were used in religious ceremonies. The legacy also finds a mention in the autobiography of its most popular monarch, Harsh Vardhan, who ruled during the 6th century. However, the story that the over 350 perfumers of the walled town (erstwhile cantonment of Nawab of Lucknow) passionately share is how rose, jasmine and khus attars or itrs (perfume oils) were transported to Agra, the capital city of the Mughals, for Empress Noorjahan. “We continue to follow the age-old process of distillation. We are old, slow and traditional, but those are our strengths,” says Pranjal.

His over two centuries old distillery is hot and smoky. As we navigate through the smoke, we are led into a room with rows of copper cauldrons on earthen ovens. Workers empty sacks of rose petals into water boiling in the cauldrons. As the petals sizzle, the steam passes through a bamboo pipe into another copper cauldron submerged in cold water where it condenses. The liquid is aged for close to a month before being bottled; 40-kg petals produce just three grams rose oil. No wonder pure rose oil costs ₹18-23 lakh per litre while a litre of pure jasmine oil is priced at ₹15 lakh per litre. A litre of pure khus oil could be ₹18,00-90,000.