Vetiver is a fragrant grass similar to lemongrass. It's not the most common of incense ingredients as a solo scent - indeed, this is I believe the first vetiver incense I've reviewed. I note that Auroshika, who, like Naturveda, are part of the Pondicherry cottage industries, also sell a vetiver. I wonder how different they are?
There is a mild, slightly peppery aroma on the stick. My observation of Naturveda and other Pondicherry incense is that the sticks use a traditional masala method in which the fragrances are folded into the paste which is hand-rolled onto the bamboo splints, and no oils or fragrant powders are added externally (as in perfume-dipped and perfumed-masala style incenses). My understanding is perfume-dipped incense is easy to make and control - the blank sticks can be made in various local households (or bought in bulk from Vietnam), then brought to a central location where the perfume solution is made up and applied. Perfumed-masala adds a layer to the masala method by adding a fragrant powder to the outside of the masala stick, and sometimes a perfume solution is also added externally. This tends to be done to give the stick an immediate appeal, even before it is burned. Perfume-dipped has that immediate appeal, while traditional masala does not. So adding a scent to the finished masala stick makes commercial and aesthetic sense. Pondicherry incense tends to eschew applying an external scent. This would be in keeping with Mirra (The Mother) Alfassa's decision back in 1949 when she set up incense production in Pondicherry that the incense would be basic, low cost, everyday incense. It seems likely that incense production in and around Pondicherry is still following the basic, simple, pure, natural, and low cost approach.
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| Ingredients: Wood powders, vetiver powder, resin, lavender and vetiver essential oil |
The scent on the burn, as is common with other Pondicherry incense, is faint, dry, sombre, peppery, a bit harsh, with more of a scent of smouldering wood than of the intended fragrance. After recently burning a fair amount of Chinese and Japanese incense, who also use wood powders and are not bold with applying the main fragrance ingredients, I had attuned my mind and senses to being patient and respectful and attentive to the subtle fragrance, and playing down my focus on the smouldering wood. I have been using that approach to these Naturveda sticks, though I do find it wearisome. I prefer to be a little more casual and relaxed with my incense. I expect the incense, on the whole, to be doing the work, while I simply appreciate and enjoy the benefits. I am willing to concentrate now and again (as I tend to do anyway when reviewing), but if I do, then I want something special to reward my concentration. This Vetiver does have lemon notes - not clear and sharp, more like lemon soap, along with tree bark, and something vague and earthy. It all feels very ordinary and basic, not worth concentrating on. Sigh.
Balaji did a Vetiver one in their new Luxury line, that could be to your liking. ;)
ReplyDeleteI do like Balaji. They are bold and heady, and do focus on the fragrance. And some of their blends - authored by Ashish Shah, who has a clear understanding of fragrance construction, and a modern and exciting outlook (one of the unsung heroes of modern incense) - are fucking fantastic. Balaji are the polar opposite of Pondicherry (under whatever brand name - and there are many - they chose to sell). So, thanks for that. If it's a Ashish Shah recipe, then I would be very interested in trying it. If its a mono-scent, then it's unlikely to be his. But I'll ask him.
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