I reviewed Nitiraj Red Nag Champa back in August 2013, and quite liked it. I've not really noticed Nitiraj around since then, but recently came upon this Nitiraj Original for £1.99 for 10g and a Nitiraj Sandalwood for 99p from SoundTravels. This Original is a masala incense with a very sweet sandalwood aroma on the stick, quite warm, sweet, seductive, with soft wool - suggesting halmaddi, and some playful sweet fruits and light floral notes. I was really knocked out and excited on taking the sticks out of the packet. The aroma on burning does approximate that of the stick, though the halmaddi, while light, does come in to make itself felt. The aroma is richly sandalwood with some touches of frankincense, but that halmaddi intrudes with its sort of old fashioned and old aroma of damp wool and old hippies, and then it pinches my nose and makes my eyes smart, and my mouth curl up, and my head begins to thump. It becomes quite intense, and I can't remain in the same room.
The packet is a plain silver with blue writing. Not the best designed thing, and not attractive. There is a blurb that this incense is "the original" natural masala incense, and has been recommended by top yoga instructors since 1978. On looking up the company, I find that Nitiraj is a brand owned by Bombay Incense Co., a British firm, who were founded in 1979 in London, and now operate from Birmingham and Florida. The sticks are made in India, though Bombay Incense don't say by who. It could be one of thousands of small incense makers in India, or it could be one of the bigger "factories". Who knows, this may well be available under a different name by another distributor.
The sticks do burn for nearly an hour, and the aroma does linger with points of sandalwood and frankincense, but mostly of dampness and old furry things. I am curious to burn this again, but I am conscious that for me the experience is quite intense, and while I find the aroma pleasing, enticing, and interesting, I also find it oddly old and damp, and quite disturbing to my senses, filling my head with irritation.
Date: March 2017 Score: 35
***
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