Incense In The Wind

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

Sunday 4 February 2024

A. S. Agarbathi Works Ayurvedic Stress Relief

 


Not the most exciting or beautiful of names both in terms of the incense company and the incense. This is only the third incense I've had from A. S. Agarbathi Works of Bangalore, who were founded in 1978, and are members of the All India Agarbathi Manufacturers Association. All have been masala style sticks, and I've really liked them - Relaxation I scored 38 in 2021, and Agarwood I scored 40 in 2018; so why I haven't explored the company further may be simply down to the company name which simply doesn't stick with me. It looks from their website that they do the standard everyday room freshener perfumed sticks, some backflow cones (everyone seems to be doing those these days), as well as the masala sticks in Goloka style packets. I've not really noticed their products much in the UK.

The sticks are the standard 8 inches with approx 6 1/2 inches of masala paste hand rolled onto a machine cut bamboo splint which has been tip dyed mauve. The paste has been lightly coated in a melnoorva powder. There is a pleasant scent on the stick - soft creamy wood and light florals and vanilla. Very attractive with little touches of peach tea and warm, raw lamb's wool. The sticks are all well made with good quality control. They are a little thin, and on the burn the smoke column is also a little thin - it takes a little while for the fragrance to make itself known. This is a gentle, laid back, and politely behaved incense. Gradually everything settles, and I enjoy the grey smoke as it swirls, and the scent starts to waft around the room making its introductions. The fragrance is a little thin and sharp with slight suggestive nips of halmaddi (not definite, but suggestive) - there is sweetness and warmth here, but for my personal taste I'd like a bit more. The woods are gentle and a little top end, whereas I prefer something more wild, musky, dark, and bottom end. This presents more as a Japanese style incense than a heady Indian one. Polite, attractive, subtle, soft, thin. dry, respectable. I like it, though I'm not as excited as I was by the other two I've tried. I am, though, interested enough to want to explore more of  A. S. Agarbathi Works products. 


Date: Feb 2024   Score: 34 
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