The Mother's Fragrances are a brand of incense imported into the UK by Greater Goods, a British company founded in the year 2000, with current headquarters in Midsomer Norton. There are two people involved in the Greater Goods company, which has a turnover of around £1/2 million a year, showing a profit of over £130K (including salaries).
The Mother's Fragrances brand is made by the Mother's Commerce Company in Pondicherry, India, which was established in August 1975 in order to sell incense from the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. There are several people who are members, as shown in this report from Economic Times, India. I once wrote that Mere Cie Dieux import and distribute Mothers in USA, Greater Goods do it in UK, Exotic Designers do it in Australia and Japan, Mira do it in Holland, and Fritz do it in Austria. Though I am uncertain today as to where I got that information.
The ashram's leader, Mirra Alfassa, The Mother, set up incense making in 1949. The aim was for this to be a modest low cost product for their own use. Surplus was sold to visitors, and by 1973 was being exported. The ashram now sell under the Cottage Industries brand name, though originally and for a while it was under the name of the ashram, Sri Aurobindo, and had a shop in Pondicherry. However, when it became a charity, it was not allowed to get directly involved in a commercial enterprise, so set up a separate trust, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Central Sales Organisation, to deal with incense and other sales through their online shop: Sacso-online.com. The Mother's Commerce Company is a Fair Trade company employing nearly 300 people (mostly women) on above average wages to make high quality incense sticks by hand with 100% natural ingredients. They also make tapestries under the Mere Cie Deux trade name.
Other outlets for the incense made in the ashram in Pondicherry and the community in Auroville
are Auroshika, One Aromatics, and Meadows. Though these outlets have sales offices in different places (Auroshika in America, and Greater Goods in the UK, Cottage Industries brand in Pondicherry, etc), the incense is all made in Pondicherry or Auroville.
The ORS are keen on The Mother's incense. I've been slow to get into this incense because for a while I had a negative reaction to halmaddi, and I was also put off by the price. The combination of a higher than average price, and stinging eyes, did not make me warm to the company. But my allergic reaction to halmaddi seems to have calmed down, and I'm now starting to engage with The Mother's, and will be reviewing more soon. Though I am not that enthusiastic regarding the other outlets: Cottage, Auroshika, One Aromatics, and Meadows, so my expectations are not high.
Reviews
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| The Mother's India Fragrances Rishi Nov 2021 - Score: 39 |
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| Shanti Nag Champa May 2015 - Score: 32* |
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| Sattva Aug 2017 - Score: 32* |
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Jan 2024 - Score: 28 |
Incense reviewed: 4
Highest score: 39
Lowest score: 32
Absolute Bliss sell Mother's 12 stick/$2.95. For this quality, it's better priced than Gokula's. Pavitra, Om, and Ckakra, are all first rate and different from each other. I would think Om competes well with HH Nag Champa gold. There is nothing politically incorrect about Mother's. They are probably the best out of all the Auroville/Aurobindo spinoffs in the incense business. Dive in and be pleasantly surprised. Their masalas are very well executed.
ReplyDeleteI really like the Auroville/Aurobindo community. But I have had a personal issue with all their incense iterations. Not with their politics at all (which as an ex or aging hippy, I totally embrace), but with their approach to incense, which appears to me to be too Western orientated. All of the incense, under the various names, I have had the same reaction - way too harsh and sharp. Way too much hamalddi, which is a bit of a cult Western taste, not at all authentic or ethnic. And way too boring. This is neither an authentic Indian incense, nor is it a cutting edge, it sort of drifts in a space aimed at a niche audience of Western incense geeks. It is not authentic, honest, interesting, or pleasant.
DeleteHaving said that, I have started getting into the Mothers, and may return here in a few weeks and deny I ever said anything bad about that brand of incense.
By the way, I learned recently that it is named after Mirra Alfassa. Or, actually, I assume it was.
The Mother became as famous as Aurobindo himself and it was evidently, she, who attracted the French devotees to setup Auroville and Pondicherry as a French enclave which it is still nice to visit being on the water's edge.
ReplyDeleteMothers is now owned by Mere Cie Dieux, a play on words. None of their sticks can be said to be harsh or sharp and halmaddi is not a western cult taste as you write. All of the early, great incense companies used it, without exception. Your problem with halmaddi is subjective and is coloring your view. Calling Mothers 'not an authentic Indian incense' is ludicrous and over the top. To criticize a company for experimenting and expanding the Nag Champa line is very closed minded. You really can do better than this. Year Of The Tiger might get you out of your rut, Steve. Maybe its the vaccines affecting you?:-)
You are right, I am being harsh and unrealistic toward The Mother's incense, and to Auroville incense as a whole. And, yes, my personal reaction to halmaddi is individual to me, though - to be fair - I can't help that, and it does tend to colour my response to incense which is richer than average in halmaddi.
DeleteI would, though, make a stand on one of the other things you have questioned. Over the years I have been exploring incense I have noted strong interest in halmaddi among several Western incense enthusiasts, and a rubbishing by those Western incense enthusiasts of masala incense that doesn't contain sufficient (for them) quantities of halmaddi. Satya for example. In my discussions with Indian incense makers and buyers, I don't find the same levels of enthusiasm. I also note that, in general (obviously there will be exceptions), masala incense that sells well in the West contains larger proportions of halmaddi than domestic masala incense. And this applies in particular to incense, such as The Mother's which is aimed more for the West than for the domestic market.
I acknowledge that halmaddi is a traditional ingredient in masala incense, and that some traditional/conservative/smaller Indian incense manufacturers will still be using methods and recipes from when they started. This happens in various businesses, and it can create an interesting symbiosis between aficionados of traditional methods and smaller companies who retain traditional methods of production, be it beer, incense, or bikes.
What I don't acknowledge is that traditional methods are necessarily better than modern methods. Sometimes they are. Sometimes they are not. And sometimes there is little difference in the finished product, though the modern method may be more economical and less harmful to the environment. I am a romantic, so I love the history and organic feel of tradition. Given a choice (regardless of product) between a traditional company and a modern one, I would favour the traditional company as that is where my soul flies. Some people go the other way. Each to their own.
So, essentially, yes, you are right, I have been unfair on The Mother's; though I reserve my opinion that halmaddi is currently a Western obsession, and that masala incense aimed at a Western market will tend to contain more halmaddi than domestic masala incense, apart from some smaller manufacturers who - for whatever reason - have retained older methods of manufacture. I may not be correct in that opinion (probably completely wrong!), but it is where I am currently at with my thinking.
"Mothers is now owned by Mere Cie Dieux" I'd like to see a source for this claim.
DeleteMere Cie Dieux import and distribute Mothers in USA, Greater Goods do it in UK, Exotic Designers do it in Australia, Mira do it in Holland, and Fritz do it in Austria.
DeleteAccording to my information Mothers is still based and run from Pondicherry. The registered address is 1st Floor Montorsier Street Pondicherry PY 605001. Directors are Ramakrishnan, Udhayalakshmi, and Robert Peter Willem Van Harten. The last AGM was last held on 29 November 2021 in Pondicherry.
The only blogs on incense worth reading are done by westerners. The westerner's discovery of halmaddi as being one of the ingredients that gives a richness to the aroma of incense sticks is an important element in this milieu. Of course the blogs are full of delight and praise, and deservedly so!
ReplyDeleteAs to your claim that the incense aimed at western markets contain more halmaddi than Indian domestic incense is simply unfounded. Elif is an example of this. Madhavdas is an example of this. Satya used to be an example of this. Your problem with halmaddi is totally subjective, unfortunately. I cannot think of one example of a great incense that doesn't have halmaddi in it. They may exist but it is my experience that more times than not, great sticks contain halmaddi.
Temple of Incense has some excellent sticks that do not contain halmaddi. Usually, these will have high quality oils that drive the scent. There is a big difference between high quality and average oils and the price will reflect that. Whether one prefers the 'traditional' halmaddi laden fragrances or the modern perfumed sticks that don't contain halmaddi is subjective, and TOI seems to do a good business with both types. Of course, business has nothing to do with tastes!?
DeleteI occasionally and randomly do research, and now and then I will update some of my blog posts, such as the one on almaddi Any information you have about halmaddi which can be used to build that post would be very welcome to.
My limited experience and research is that halmaddi was traditionally used as a binder in incense, but that use has over time been largely replaced by gum arabic - I am told that this is because gum arabic is easier to work with and has no odour. Some traditional makers still use halmaddi as a binder, and a number of modern masala incenses also use halmaddi, sometimes it seems to be used as a fragrant ingredient rather than as a binder - though I don't have clear information on this. Questions about halmaddi sometimes don't get answered, or answered vaguely. Some people have been clearer than others.
Though halmaddi is the term used for the gum resin from the Ailanthus triphysa tree, there appears to be another use by some manufacturers, such as The Mothers, who use the term to refer to a fragrant paste they make up using honey mixed with parts from the Mimusops elengi tree. There is also uncertainty regarding the term Mattipal - is it another name for halmaddi, or is it the resin from the Peepal tree?
In my experience, sometimes a mistake is made which is repeated. If it is repeated often often it becomes accepted, and it can be difficult to get beyond that into the truth. And that is not helped by there being so little authoritative information on Indian incense.
Any info you have on halmaddi would be really welcomed as you appear to be someone who knows a lot about incense. And it would be awesome if you have any sources with information on halmaddi than you could point me to.
The link regarding the "paste they make up" leads to a blog one seemingly needs to be invited to be able to view it. Can you tell how this works or manybe cite the text please?
DeleteAh! The Mothers blog is now closed. It was open when I posted the above link. And I have just checked, and I didn't save it to WayBack (something I started to do a year or so back in order to try and prevent link rot). I can't recall what it said, so all we have to go on for the moment is what I said above. The info in that blog may have been written in error (someone may have copy pasted Mimusops Elengi instead of Ailanthus Malabarica - it happens) because I've just done a search and not found that info repeated anywhere else.
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ReplyDeleteReviews are supposed to be personal opinions and our opinions create biases. There is nothing wrong with not liking halmaddi, let alone not liking the physical discomfort it causes you.
You don't have to do better to fit in with other people's opinions if you're already doing your best to be yourself.
Thank you for that.
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