Oud and its exotic aroma have long fascinated humanity. I came back healthy today.
The most sublime sensory spell cast on humanity is scent. From the ancients to his gizmo-toting Gen Z, no one can resist the allure of a fine fragrance. Oud is one of the scents that has been loved over time.
Its medicinal properties are extolled in classical Indian texts such as Ayurveda, where it is known as “agar” in Sanskrit and “oud” or “wood” in Arabic. The Old Testament, the New Testament, Buddhist writings, the Ramayana, and the Islamic Hadith have all praised this mysterious aroma. Today, this remarkable scent is making a comeback, not just as a perfume, but as a uniting factor for humanity. With Eid al-His Fitr just around the corner, fragrance lovers of all religions and races flock to Oud for its divine olfactory experience.
story of fragrance
In Assam’s endless green forests lies the Aquilaria agarocha tree species, whose infected bark is distilled to produce an aromatic oil called daan al-oud (tree fat) in Arabic. The wood is burned as incense. During its thousands of years of history, the Gulf Arabs turned it into a luxury fragrance. While the oil is applied to the skin and fabrics, it is blended with other scents such as saffron, rose, amber, musk, and sandalwood to create exotic arabesque perfumes called “karta” or “blends.”
Oud is central to Islamic tradition, so Ramzan and Eid see an annual boom in amazing oud-based attars (fragrance oils), perfume sprays, and incense. However, that doesn’t mean he’s limited to one community. “The oud has been central to almost every culture. As the Irish philosopher James Joyce said, ‘the universal is contained in the particular.’ It has universal appeal,” smiles Tajul Islam Bakshi of Assam Aromas, a renowned oud distiller.
He explains that the word ‘agarbati’ literally means ‘agar or oud incense’. “However, as the price of agar rose, it was replaced by synthetic versions,” he explains. Bakshi, as his name suggests, is credited with reviving the centuries-old tradition of natural agar incense. He also made waves in the fragrance industry with his recent masterpiece ‘Oud and Rose’, which uses oud distilled with pure rosewater. His deft temperature control during the process is considered a rare feat in aroma distillation.
Exoticism is not plugged in
Shopping for fragrances around Eid is pure joy. The Indian market offers a wide variety of innovative oud products that attract connoisseurs and novices alike.
A recent visit to the Fragrance Bazaar on Mumbai’s famous Muhammad Ali Road filled me with nostalgia. I chose Ajmal’s Anbar Azraq, literally “blue amber,” which brought back memories of my teenage years chatting with friendly Arabs at transit airports. “Tatkallam arabiyyah jayyad” (you speak Arabic so well), they will gush!
I named this Attar Roux Al Arab, or “Soul of the Arabs”, considering the authentic Khaleej (Gulf Arab) expression that exudes the masculine overtones of Arabic. Starting with myrrh, a resin native to Oman and Yemen, Taifi from Saudi Arabia is an unabashedly woody attar with sophisticated notes of rose, creamy musk, and Indian oud.
Rainy afternoons, playing football in the schoolyard, and muddy uniforms are childhood memories that even people in their 80s can tear up. That was Ajmal’s Super Daan Al Oud 90. Daan Al Oud is generally expensive, but this was an authentic Assamese Oud experience for only 900 rupees. With its own wet earthiness, similar to the earthy scent after the first monsoon shower, its rich, leathery scent also transported me to an Italian truffle farm. . There, cute dogs dig up precious mushrooms and wait to be lovingly petted.
Last but not least, I round out my scent collection with the cool and refreshing Attar Khuda for summer and the quaint Zoroastrian scent next to the century-old fire temple in Mumbai. It was the mentally rejuvenating benzoin loban from the incense shop Minoy Meher.
oriental scent
“Scent is a solace to the soul,” smiles Vishesh Tareja, 33, a real estate expert based in Mumbai. He is one of the young professionals in India who are moving away from common deodorants and French brand perfumes and are contributing to the renaissance of oriental scents. “I inherited a passion for attar from my father. While traditional Indian attars like rose, jasmine, and sandalwood touch the soul, oud increases energy levels and works an inexplicable magic on your personality. ” he opines.
With traditional Indian attars such as rose, oud and majmoa towering over her wardrobe, Tareja is proud of her Indian fragrance heritage. Krishnan R, an IT professional, echoes his thoughts. “The warmth and love of the sandalwood incense that our grandparents lit is unparalleled. Now is the time for us to embrace the basics, from the inorganic charms of the mass market to the soulful scents of our land. It’s time to get back to it,” he beams.
The author is an independent writer, Hindustani musician, multilingual, and perfumer with a fierce passion for fine fragrance, sound, culture, and creative expression. .
(Photo taken by the author)
