(Happy Hari) Dhuni

I have a plain white packet of masala incense called dhuni. I think this was sent to me as a sample by Paul of Happy Hari for review, and it's only now I am getting round to it. In the meantime, Happy Hari has been removed from OTR's Hall of Fame, Paul has stopped following my blog, has removed links to me and to other incense blogs from his website, has stopped posting on his Facebook page, and Happy Hari has ceased trading There is also a story, unconfirmed, that Paul died during the Christmas period in 2016. I am so sorry Paul.

This is a lovely incense. Delicate and fragrant. There is wood and resin, yet also fruit. There is a warm, musky cologne, quite refined and sensual. There is a tangible, edible sweetness about this. The sticks are quite simply, almost crudely made. The bamboo is split by hand, so the thickness varies. The bamboo is then rolled in a charcoal base. It's a decent quality charcoal powder, as it doesn't impact on the scent at all. Then the stick is rolled in a masala of dried fragrant ingredients, and I suspect an essential oil, possibly from some citric fruit, is added. The finished result smells lovely on the stick, with a variety of scents to intrigue and tease, wandering around cologne, leather, sandalwood, and that elusive fruit. I like it. It doesn't quite excite and thrill me as my very very favourite incense does, but I am liking this, and shall be sad when the packet is empty.

From what I can gather, Dhuni is the brand name of a chap, Piers, who on a visit to India around 2010 discovered a masala incense maker, and decided to sell some in the UK. He created a website, dhuni.co.uk which no longer exists [archive here], and he created two blogs to promote his incense - naturalincensesticks, and dhuninaturalincensesticks.  He put together a press release to promote his sticks. And in January 2011 he gave some samples to ORS, who enjoyed them a lot, and put his incense in their Hall of Fame. Encouraged by this he distributed a new press release,  In August 2013 he passed over the brand to Happy Hari, who has also now stopped trading.  So it seems that the brand has now ceased to exist. There is a trader, Prakash Takkekar, who is using the Dhuni name on masala incense with hand split bamboo sticks [not available as of Jan 2022] on his website Incense Fragrance of the Soul [not available as of Jan 2022], but he tells me that he has no relation to this Dhuni. He is sending me some samples to review. [I don't recall receiving them. Jan 2022]

Though Piers and Paul's Dhuni brand has ceased to trade, their incense makers will likely continue to make masala incense for somebody. It may be that the same makers supply incense for the Italian sellers Fiore D'Oriente as there is something I find in common between the two, though I like this Dhuni a little more.


Date: March 2017  Score: 42

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