Sold via the UK Krishna temple, Bhaktivedanta Manor (which was bought by George Harrison for the UK branch of the international Krishna movement), via their online site Sacred Boutique/KrishnaShopping.com. Sacred Boutique say they import from the sacred city of Vrindavan (incense from which is also sold by Vrindavan Bazaar, Gokula, Sai Handicrafts, and others). The packet says "Charcoal Free", though the paste crumbles in my fingers, and leaves dark marks similar to charcoal. There are no smouldering paper smells when the stick is burned, which I tend to get from incense which uses wood powder. I would have thought this was a standard charcoal paste stick. Anyway....
Night Queen is a incense name I have encountered a few times, and hadn't really paid much attention to it. I looked it up once, considered if it was a variation of Parijatha - the night-blooming jasmine, and ended up concluding it was probably based on the scent of the night flowering cactus known as Queen of the Night. I've looked again, a little more closely this time, and I now suspect it is a different night-scented jasmine - Lady of the Night; known in India as Raat ki Raani or "Night Queen". I land on that conclusion due to the Ittar Store website post, which says: "Night Queen fragrance typically includes notes of Night Queen, jasmine, ylang-ylang, and other floral notes such as rose and lily, as well as a hint of musk or vanilla for a deeper, more sensual aroma", which seems a fair summary of the incense scents I have encountered with the Night Queen name.
This stick is, as indicated above, a perfume-dipped charcoal. I have noted that some incenses from Vrindavan are masala, some are perfumed masala, some are perfume-dipped charcoal, some are hand-rolled, and some are machine-extruded, so it is clear that there are variety of artisan enterprises in and around Vrindavan supplying the various traders. The scent on the stick is quite volatile, and it takes a little moment for the fumes to settle down to be approached as a fragrance rather than an assault of pine disinfectant. And it is worth the wait, for the fragrance is fascinating. It is dark, mysterious, sultry, floral, musky, seductively female, and conjures up images (as least for me, your mileage may vary) of an Arabian belly dancer. There's mint, patchouli, banana, jasmine, leather, shoe polish, coal dust, faint cat piss, and damp straw. It is utterly extraordinary and compelling.
The scent on the burn builds on the scent on the stick, though is softer and more fragrant with touches of vanilla and Parma Violets. Oooh, it's a gorgeous fragrance. I love this. And it's only £2.95 for 20g from Sacred Boutique. Lovely stuff. Perfumed-charcoal, eh? Who knew that it could be so beautiful?
Very interesting!
ReplyDelete