THE SCENT OF HOME

Founders of six homegrown perfume brands tell us about the one memory they've bottled in their first-ever scent and how it paved the way for many more. By Sanjana Salunkhe

Bombay Perfumery might have launched with eight fragrances simultaneously, but the unisex Chai Musk has been the one scent that has been brewing in perfumer Alexandra Carlin's mind since its inception. "Inspired by a particularly robust cup of chai that she enjoyed in the Mumbai suburb of Juhu, the fragrance features gourmand ingredients that feel like home," shares Manan Gandhi, founder of Bombay Perfumery, as he tells us that the scent is like an ode to the City of Dreams - the hustle and bustle, the shared journeys, the stories that are exchanged and forgotten. And the one thing that remains constant through it all: those innumerable cups of chai.

For Rajiv Seth, nose and founder of All Good Scents, his first-ever creation bottles his favourite ingredients; he received the best perfumer's award, 2eme Prix, from the Société Française des Parfumeurs, Paris, for his creation.

"The brief was '2000 flowers for the spring' to welcome the new millennium, and the scent was called Blossom 2000.