Incense In The Wind

Radiating Incense In The Wind - a painting by Hai Linh Le

Sunday 12 August 2018

Goloka Sri Tulsi




Another beautiful incense from Goloka.  As far as masala incense goes, I could burn Goloka and Satya incense all day long and never get tired. They both do a wide and constantly expanding and shifting range of proper job masala incense, so there always seems something new to explore. The standard is consistently high, and the prices are always decently low - which can't be said of all masala incense. On our way back from holidaying in Somerset we dropped into Glastonbury, and wandered around the shops. Some masala incense there can go very high - over £10 a packet, while Satya masala incense is available for around £1.25 - £1.50. One shop concentrated on unbranded masala incense that had clearly been bought loose by the kilo from India, and were selling them off in small sealed plastic packets. Not only does the buyer not know the provenance (as with incense by, say, Happy Hari and Gokula, where I have encountered incense from the same producer), but using plastic bags when we know so much these days about how that harms the environment seems to me to be unwise.  Goloka incense is always packaged in an environmentally friendly way. It looks good, feels good, and doesn't destroy our planet.  And 100% of the profit goes back into good causes like providing meals to poor children.

This Sri Tulsi starts off vanilla sweet and then becomes herby, though still remaining sweet and fresh.  It's a mint or basil aroma. Tulsi or tulasi is the Indian name for Holy Basil, which is commonly used in India for religious and therapeutic purposes. Basil has a long folk tradition in many cultures around the world, with a variety of therapeutic or magical uses (this product claims that cancer patients should use it - and according to science that may be helpful).

As the scent develops some fruity aromas emerge - mostly dark like blackcurrant and plum, and then hints of liquorice, aniseed and clove, along with some lemon. It is a cleansing and refreshing scent, yet also calming,  welcoming and restful. It's not a scent that makes me go Oooh, but it is one that I enjoy and also feel has positive therapeutic value. While I'm not a big fan of therapeutic incense such as Tibetan or Himalayan incense, for example Dr. Yonten’s Tibetan Healing Incense, or of Spiritual/Ritual Incense in which the primary aim is to invoke a charm rather than produce a pleasant fragrance, this incense shows that therapeutic incense can be done very pleasantly.

I like it.

Date: Aug 2018    Score: 35
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