Last of the Rorschach style ink blob samples that Shreyas Sugandhi of Vithaldas Narayandas and Sons (VNS) sent to me where the ink has run on the paper sleeves, making it difficult to read. Shreyas has translated them for me, and this one says Gold. The description is "Handrolled Masala Agarbatti"
There's a lot of perfume or oils on the surface of the sticks, so the initial impression is of a perfumed-incense. Though various makers have been helpful to me over the years, and provided descriptions of how they make incense, there are still huge gaps in my knowledge and understanding, and it seems to me that the more I learn the more I realise that the less I know. Conversations via email or WhatsApp (with some occasional voice calls), are not as good as face to face discussions, especially in the place where the incense is made. I really must get out to India soon, and visit some incense houses. Anyway. My understanding of the term masala is that ingredients are put into the paste other just just combustible and binder. Originally there would be the fragrant ingredients along with fixatives, such as a tree resin - benzoin or frankincense or halmaddi. The fragrant ingredients could be ground down petals, woods, spices, and resins, or oils and perfumes. A powder would be put on the outside of the paste to help dry it. The term masala originally referred to the fragrant mix of powder that was folded into the paste. Over time, the powder on the outside was sometimes fragranced - either with powdered fragrant ingredients or a perfume/oil, so the masala term came to be applied to the powder that was added to the outside of the paste rather than the inside. Gradually the perfuming of the outside of the paste has come to dominate the Indian incense industry, and much of that perfuming of masala sticks is done with perfume/oil blends that don't appear to be significantly different to those used in everyday perfumed-incense. The main differences, perhaps, being in the quality of the oils, or in how much they are diluted. So I do wonder now and again, other than some powder being applied to the paste after it has been rolled onto the bamboo, what is the essential difference between a masala and a perfumed incense. I should image that some fixative, such as halmaddi or benzoin, is still blended into the paste, and perhaps a few other traditional ingredients are still used. Though I should also imagine that the better quality perfumed-incenses also contain fixatives to better project the fragrance and make it last. I'm not entirely sure that the main dividing point between a quality incense (which has a rich and original fragrance that enchants and excites and perfumes the house for several hours with a pure scent) and a poor quality incense (which has a crude, old fashioned, unimaginative scent perhaps flawed with the smell of chemicals or combustibles, and disperses quickly) is down to a scattering of masala powder on the outside of the paste. I think the main difference is in the skill and imagination of the "nose" who created the fragrance mix, and in the quality of the ingredients used.
I have been using the term perfumed-masala for some years now to describe a stick that has some elements of a masala incense, but the fragrance is mainly powered by perfumes/oils applied externally to the paste. And that seems a good description for these sticks. There is a LOT of perfume on the sticks. It is a sweet, floral scent touched with vanilla, quite perfumed, with slight chemical notes reminiscent of plastic and of pine disinfectant. It's a little simple and crude, though at the same time quite pleasant. If this stick were bare charcoal and had this same scent, a number of incense connoisseurs would reject it out of hand. As it presents like a masala there is still a willingness to engage.
The scent on the burn is more woody and resinous than that on the stick, though retains the sweetness, almost candy sweetness, with touches of vanilla, and some sense of alcohol or fermented fruit, and a hint of clove - I'm put in mind of a Christmas cake. But there is still that chemical note, which jars the enjoyment a little. On the whole an attractive scent, but one that doesn't quite convince me or win me over. Though I am intrigued enough to be interested in trying again in a month or so.
I have been using the term perfumed-masala for some years now to describe a stick that has some elements of a masala incense, but the fragrance is mainly powered by perfumes/oils applied externally to the paste. And that seems a good description for these sticks. There is a LOT of perfume on the sticks. It is a sweet, floral scent touched with vanilla, quite perfumed, with slight chemical notes reminiscent of plastic and of pine disinfectant. It's a little simple and crude, though at the same time quite pleasant. If this stick were bare charcoal and had this same scent, a number of incense connoisseurs would reject it out of hand. As it presents like a masala there is still a willingness to engage.
The scent on the burn is more woody and resinous than that on the stick, though retains the sweetness, almost candy sweetness, with touches of vanilla, and some sense of alcohol or fermented fruit, and a hint of clove - I'm put in mind of a Christmas cake. But there is still that chemical note, which jars the enjoyment a little. On the whole an attractive scent, but one that doesn't quite convince me or win me over. Though I am intrigued enough to be interested in trying again in a month or so.
Kesar Gulab is available from Padma Store for 4.85 Euros, from Everest Trader for $5.00, and from VNS at 55 rupees (46p) . (If you live outside India, to buy from VNS you need to contact Shreyas Sugandhi at vns@vnsons.com)
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