The British incense and ethnic goods distributor Aargee had commissioned Satya to make a number of incense sticks under the Aargee and Stamford brands since 2011. In 2014 they developed 12 new fragrances to be sold exclusively by Stamford, though using the Satya brand name. The Aargee company split, with the incense distribution continuing solely under the Stamford brand name. Stamford continues to work with Satya, though they deal only with Nagaraj in Mumbai - claiming exclusive rights to Mumbai Satya distribution in the UK.
2014 was the year that the two brothers split Satya into two companies, with Nagaraj, who had been in charge of distribution, initially commissioning the production of the sticks he sold until he later established his own incense factory in Bangalore, the city where Satya production had been based since the 1960s. This box, and all the others I have in this series (which I have seen described as the Philosophy series), have Nagaraj's 1st Mumbai logo. Though I have also seen boxes, such as here, with the second (the current) Mumbai logo.
2014 was the year that the two brothers split Satya into two companies, with Nagaraj, who had been in charge of distribution, initially commissioning the production of the sticks he sold until he later established his own incense factory in Bangalore, the city where Satya production had been based since the 1960s. This box, and all the others I have in this series (which I have seen described as the Philosophy series), have Nagaraj's 1st Mumbai logo. Though I have also seen boxes, such as here, with the second (the current) Mumbai logo.
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| Top left: original logo - Top right: Mumbai 1st Bottom left: Bangalore - Bottom right: Mumbai |
Fragrances in the Philosophy series that I've already reviewed are: Freedom (Score:20), Knowledge (Score: 32), Meditating Shiva (Score: 27), and Laxmi's Lotus (Score: 25). They were all reviewed back in 2019 when I wasn't aware they were the initial Mumbai Satya incense - I thought they were made by the original Satya factory in Bangalore as that is what the boxes indicate. Actually, I've just noticed that the logo is a little different to what I have previously understood as the 1st Nagaraj logo. The logos on these boxes have Nagaraj's reversed colour original Satya logo, but with the Bangalore (Bengaluru) address instead of the Mumbai one. My comments in those reviews indicate that I felt they were low quality due to the agreement with Aargee/Stamford rather than that Nagaraj was (possibly) outsourcing the production of the sticks, and the maker was relying more on synthetic perfumes and less on a proper masala paste than was standard in Satya. It was that mistake by Nagaraj. Well, assumed mistake - he may have intended the sticks to use modern synthetic perfumes partly to reduce production costs and partly to widen the appeal of Satya - I don't know; it may have been that intent by Nagaraj which split the brothers. Balkrishna may have wanted to remain traditional, so they argued and the company was split. Who knows!
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| This must be the original Nagaraj logo - it gives the Bangalore address |
Packs of the Philosophy series are still available from some dealers, though stocks appear to be low as many shops show "sold out". I've had a look for this Enlightenment and only see it as being sold out, such as at The Incense Man.
The sticks? Well, there's a cool herby fragrance on the stick - quite volatile, quite pleasant. The sticks are the standard 8 inches with 6 inches of hand-rolled paste with a thin covering of wood dust to give the appearance of a masala stick. These are quite thin sticks, and without the little smearing of wood dust ("melnoorva") they would present as perfume-dipped. On the burn there is a warm, gentle musky fragrance, thread through with cool charcoal. It's an acceptable scent, but no more than you'd expect from any reasonably well made everyday perfumed-incense. There's movement now and again, with patchouli, camphor, dry mushrooms, and faint woods shifting around. It's OK, and - to be fair - it holds up well as a 10 year old perfumed incense.
The sticks? Well, there's a cool herby fragrance on the stick - quite volatile, quite pleasant. The sticks are the standard 8 inches with 6 inches of hand-rolled paste with a thin covering of wood dust to give the appearance of a masala stick. These are quite thin sticks, and without the little smearing of wood dust ("melnoorva") they would present as perfume-dipped. On the burn there is a warm, gentle musky fragrance, thread through with cool charcoal. It's an acceptable scent, but no more than you'd expect from any reasonably well made everyday perfumed-incense. There's movement now and again, with patchouli, camphor, dry mushrooms, and faint woods shifting around. It's OK, and - to be fair - it holds up well as a 10 year old perfumed incense.
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