Roses, henna, essential oil in India’s perfume capital: eighth-generation maker starts a scent tour in Kannauj, his hometown
- Kannauj, in India’s Uttar Pradesh state, is the centre for production of attar, an essential oil used in perfume making around the world
- Eighth-generation perfume maker Pranav Kapoor has started a perfume tour to highlight the legacy of the town and his own family
Kannauj, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, resembles many other Indian towns, its narrow lanes brimming with activity: men on their haunches chatting; cows winding languidly around two-wheelers and pedestrians; giggling children in uniform making their way to school.
But it doesn’t smell like other Indian towns, at least in parts.
This is the country’s perfume capital, where attar – a fragrant essential oil made mainly from botanical ingredients – has been produced for centuries. Approximately 350 perfumeries here supply domestic and international markets, Kannauj attars lacing the perfumes of global fragrance houses.
Despite its rich and fragrant history, Kannauj – three hours from Agra, and the capital of North India during the reign of Emperor Harshavardhan (AD590 to 647) – receives few tourists. But that could be about to change.
An eighth-generation perfumer recently launched a tourist trail to highlight the town’s heritage and his family’s 200-year legacy in the business.
