There's some sandalwood oil here, but there's also mouldy leather and other smells which don't really work well together, so there's something of an ugly clash. This is the second of the small batch of incense sticks made in Pushkar, that I bought from Pilgrims Fair Trade - which they sell under the description "Pushkar Temple Incense", though the outlets in Pushkar use the descriptions "Natural Incense" or "Hand Rolled Incense", so the "Temple Incense" appears to have been added by Pilgrims (I have written to them asking for clarification). There are several temples in Pushkar, the most famous being Brahma Temple; while it is possible that one of these temples organises the making of the incense, I don't think that is the case. I suspect Pilgrims added "Temple Incense" to the description as a piece of Western marketing.
There are three outlets in Pushkar, and favourite for being the one that supplied Pilgrim Fair Trade is Om Pushkar, as photos of the incense in the shop matches what I have. There are various outlets for similar style incense from Pushkar, and it is uncertain who makes them. This happens across India - we have various shops and traders, like Shekhar's, Ramakrishna's, Deepika, the B.G Pooja Store in Tiruvannamalai, Hare Krishna Das, etc, where it appears at first glance that the shop makes the incense, but further research shows that they don't. In the bundle I bought is one pack which is different in appearance to the others and has no label. It is described by Pilgrim Fair Trade as "Pushkar Sandal". I have asked them to clarify if that is by a different maker. I suspect it is. Either that, or this is a higher quality product, as it doesn't have the chemical pungency that the others have.
There are three outlets in Pushkar, and favourite for being the one that supplied Pilgrim Fair Trade is Om Pushkar, as photos of the incense in the shop matches what I have. There are various outlets for similar style incense from Pushkar, and it is uncertain who makes them. This happens across India - we have various shops and traders, like Shekhar's, Ramakrishna's, Deepika, the B.G Pooja Store in Tiruvannamalai, Hare Krishna Das, etc, where it appears at first glance that the shop makes the incense, but further research shows that they don't. In the bundle I bought is one pack which is different in appearance to the others and has no label. It is described by Pilgrim Fair Trade as "Pushkar Sandal". I have asked them to clarify if that is by a different maker. I suspect it is. Either that, or this is a higher quality product, as it doesn't have the chemical pungency that the others have.
The sticks are hand rolled charcoal paste onto a fairly chunky and tough piece of bamboo, and then thinly covered in a dusty wood powder, and then dipped in a fragrance solution. There is a nasty whiff of plastic volatility on the stick. Quite sharp and unpleasant. Within that is the sandalwood oil, some jasmine florals, and the rancid leather. It's kinda interesting, but also somewhat repellent. But I'm not really a fan of jasmine.
The scent on the burn is has a smouldering wood quality which I noticed on the Agar Wood, though is a little more noticeable here because the perfume oils are not that strong. There is not much of the scents from the stick present here. Is there a scent of sandalwood? Possibly. But mostly its smouldering paper. To be frank, this is rubbish. I found the first one quaint, but there's nothing interesting here. Just a bog standard cheaply made Indian incense.
Date: Jan 2025 Score: 17
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This Pushkar incense is made by Om Pushkar Natural Incense House, which is situated in Gau Ghat (where it is believed that Krishna’s Cow, Surbhi has descended to earth), who makes this Pushkar Incenses, Attars, Gulkand which is rose preserve and rose water. I have one of my relative living there and they are a regular customer to this shop, so I went there with my relative and the shopkeeper gave me a discount! Yay! Anyways, I bought Pakiza, Natural Rose, Ruh Oud, Ellora and Mysore Chandan. I Loved Pakiza, Natural Rose Mysore Chandan and Ellora. I found the Ruh Oud to be ok because there is a noticeable Oud attar fragrance but with burning fragrance.
ReplyDeleteI also tried this Incense, Sandal Woods. I stumbled upon this in an antique shop at Times Square Center Mall in Dubai and they priced it for 10 dhs. There is a sandalwood oil fragrance but along with that burning wood smell and the unpleasant smell of commercial amla hair oil on a unwashed hair, which reminded me of one of my aunty who roams around a residential community’s playground at evening. It was not that pleasant and I chucked it up in the trash.
Thanks Vid. So does that mean that the other three incense outlets in Pushkar also make their own?
DeleteSorry, I meant "other two". There's only a total of three outlets at the moment from what Google maps tells me.
DeleteIt could also mean that.
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