Manohar Hari Om

 

Manohar Sugandhi was founded in Pune in the 1930s, and is a third-generation family-run incense house. This is the fifth and last of five samples sent by Julian of The Incense Atelier. I loved Gurukrupa and Amber Mahal- I was less keen on Manohar Gold. 

     

Hari Om Manohar packet

The sticks are quite chunky - thicker than the average bamboo splint. And there is a generous amount of dough on each stick which is then coated in powdery orange-brown melnoorva/masala powder. Scent on the stick is floral with sharp spikes, and a bubblegum sweetness, with a supporting base of sandalwood. Very attractive, though also reasonably familiar as a generic Indian masala incense. Perhaps a tad more fruit. Good stuff - perhaps more attractive and compelling than average without being distinctive enough to be unusually exciting. 

The thickness of the stick makes it a little slower to light than average, but then it does, and it settles quite quickly into a delightful and well balanced burn. The separate aspects of the scent ingredients - the sweet, pale wood, the fruit, the florals, meld well into an accord that resembles Nag Champa, but at the same time skips away from that into something a little cleaner and more refreshing. Not exactly Nag Champa Lite, but more Nag Champa Feminine. Yes, very nice.

Manohar incense is available in India from Manohar Sugandhi at 280 Rupees for 50gm. Outside India from The Incense Atelier at prices from £1.75 to £2.75 for 10g plus shipping. There's also a very useful sample pack of 10 different fragrances (2 sticks each) for £3.95 plus postage.  

Date: Apr 2026    Score: 36/50

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Manohar Sugandhi