Ullas Patil's Traditions of India Premium Flora Bathi

 

This is made by Patil Parimala Works of Bangalore who trade as Ullas. SamsaSpoon/Irene who runs the PlumeOfSmoke blog, got in touch recently to say that Sri Durga Perfumery Works (two of whose scents I had reviewed: Spiritual 7 Chakras and Spiritual Yoga) had closed, and their Spiritual range been taken over by Patil Parimala, so would be known in future as Ullas. 

This is labelled as a "Flora Bathi". "Flora" is a vague term. The earliest use I have found is for Sai Flora, and much incense that is called flora appears to have something in common with that legendary incense - particularly the heavy use of oils. The intention appears to be as rich as possible. Crude almost. Vulgar almost. Floras tend not to be delicate or subtle incenses. And oddly, despite the richness, a good number of floras are reasonably priced. It seems to be part of the tradition that a flora should be bright, bold, and yet not expensive. They are very Indian, and are mainly aimed at the domestic market, where they may be sold in a luxury box at a premium price. This is sold in a Goloka style box - larger than a Satya box, but smaller than a luxury box. And it is priced at 30 Rupees (approx 27p) for 15 sticks, so a fairly standard price - not a bargain price, but not a premium price. At this price and strength the oils used are more likely to be fragrance oils than essential oils. Fragrance oils are not pure oils - they will have a proportion of synthetic fragrance added to them - perhaps as much as 100% synthetic. But synthetic fragrances are not bad - most luxury perfumes, such as Chanel No5, have a proportion of synthetic fragrance to increase strength and depth and also accuracy of the scent. This box, though, says 100% Nature. The box also mentions halmaddi - a fixative that holds and boosts the strength and durability of fragrances. 

The appearance is of a standard masala incense:  an eight inch stick with 6 inches of charcoal paste hand-rolled onto a plain bamboo splint, and then coated with a brown melnoorva powder (increasingly these days, the melnoorva - which is usually unscented powdered tree bark placed on the paste to stop the sticks from gluing together as they dry - is termed "masala powder" because it is so associated with masala style incense). The scent on the stick is warm, sweet, floral - reminiscent of talcum/baby powder. The floral notes are rose and iris. There's some mild woody notes underneath. Some citric hints. A touch of men's cologne. Some bubblegum (fruit and phenolic wheat beer). It's an attractive scent - warm, sweet and familiar. Somewhat synthetic and lacking in depth, but pleasing. 

The scent on the burn is similar to that on the stick - sweet, pleasant, everyday cologne and baby powder. It reminds me of the modern perfume based sticks made by Balarama.  It's not as rich and traditional smelling as other floras I've had. It burns well and diffuses attractively around the room - it makes itself known without being assertive. I like it, but it doesn't transcend the ordinary. I kinda prefer the richer scent on the stick. A lot of the top notes are lost on the burn. But it is still nice. 


Date: Oct 2024   Score: 31 

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Ullas Agarbathi

Flora, Fluxo, and Supreme