As you turn left from Lakhan Chaurahaa in Kannauj, cutting through slender alleys, your nostrils are filled with a heady fusion of fragrances. Amid a few chemist and halwai shops thronged by local people are stores that are stacked with gleaming glass bottles filled with colourful liquids. The smell of frying samosas and kachoris is easily overpowered by the redolence of traditional perfume, or ittar.
Kannauj has been home to a thriving perfume industry since the days of Harshvardhana, who ruled over north India from his capital of Kannauj between 606 and 647 BC and first encouraged the development of fragrances here. Even today, beyond the antique facades of decrepit houses, ittar is prepared using the ancient deg bhapka method - the traditional way of extracting oil from flower petals through steaming and distillation - and then sold to buyers from across the country.
But the last few years have seen the city's perfume industry shrink. A rising demand for alcohol-based fragrances, coupled with the high cost of production, has left sellers and manufacturers alike fearing for their future. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's visit to Grasse in France last month was aimed at saving the slumping industry. Yadav, accompanied by his wife, Kannauj MP Dimple Yadav, and three others, spent four days in the perfume capital of the world to facilitate trade between India and France.
Perfume is ingrained deep in the DNA of Kannauj. It is a part of its everyday life. For centuries now, the industry has been the mainstay of the city's economy. As I stand in the middle of the one of the oldest perfume markets in the world, I try to find answers to where the industry is headed and whether it might be too late to revive it.
Shrinking market
Gauri Sugandh is one of the most popular perfume destinations in the market. Its owner, Vijay Tewari, a bespectacled 53-year-old dressed in a sky blue check shirt, with tilak smeared on his forehead, sits in his shop surrounded by glass bottles. Tewari asks his attendant to show me the best perfumes. A short fellow hastily obliges, placing on the counter five bottles of the finest ittars the shop has to offer. "This is sunflower," says Tewari proudly, pointing to a conical bottle filled with sparkling yellow perfume. But it doesn't come cheap at Rs 18,000 a litre."
Such high production costs are mainly due to the rising cultivation and labour costs. Maintenance of the age-old equipment is also a major problem.
At such prices, Tewari's chances of good earnings are slim. "Customers have started opting for what we call modern perfume. When a good deodorant can do the same job for you, why spend so much on ittar?" he asks. As I take his leave, Tewari lands a dispiriting parting remark: "Very soon this industry will be all about survival."
At one time, ittar from Kannauj sold all over the country. But the advent of inexpensive alcohol-based fragrances and deodorants has flattened the demand for ittar everywhere. Doomsday, however, may still be some distance away: profits in the ittar market remain strong, with most sellers making a cut of 20-25 per cent.
Abdul Qayyum, a small shopkeeper in the area, puts the dwindling sales down to the lack of tourists that come to the town. He crouches to spit out the tobacco he is chewing and then begins to explain: "Perfume is made in almost every household here. So the locals do not buy from us. It's only visitors like you who can help us," he says. "But unfortunately, there aren't many like you who come to Kannauj." Qayyum, 50, makes just Rs 200-250 a day. He says that if things don't improve, he might start looking at other options to provide for his family, which has four other members.
The younger lot in Kannauj has started to adapt to the changing preferences. Guddu Wasri, a third-generation ittar seller, also sells deodorants because people prefer them to ittar. He also reproduces fragrances by international brands. A fragrance supposedly of Ralph Lauren or Zino Davidoff, for example, is available for Rs 500, whereas the original costs somewhere between Rs 4,000 and Rs 5,000.
Another reason for the industry's woes can be attributed to the partial ban on gutka and chewing tobacco in several states on grounds of public health. Earlier, local manufacturers used to procure scents for their gutka from the ittar makers of Kannauj. Now, that has stopped and the business has taken a tumble.
But there is some optimism too. Sushil Kumar Pandey, who opened shop four months ago, says business is brisk. However, unlike most competitors, Pandey does not manufacture fragrances on his own. Instead, he sources them from Givaco, a Mumbai-based company that produces them at lower costs. "We are just reselling perfume. So there is no cost of production. That is one reason why we've started out well," says Pandey.
Seeking solutions
A visit to Pushpraj Jain's residence-cum-factory, which is a mini landmark in Kannauj, also shows that all is not lost for the ittar industry. Ask any person on the street and he'll happily show you the direction to his house. His Pragati Aroma and Oil Distillers is one of the largest manufacturers of ittar in the country. He accompanied Yadav on his French sojourn as a representative of the industry. At the entrance to his house, an unassuming green gate opens into a sprawling courtyard that is adorned by a fleet of SUVs.
On his office table, amid numerous ittar bottles, are tall cans of pan masala arranged in a neat line. The balding, pot-bellied Jain devours a spoonful of it and begins talking. "There is a fight for technology in the world. Business cannot improve as long as we keep using techniques that are 800-900 years old. The market for natural perfumes has eroded. Chemical perfumes need to be embraced," he says. Jain has manufacturing units in six states and exports perfumes to more than 50 countries.
Jain says that there is a future for natural scents but only if they are made using modern techniques. His factory is one of the few in Kannauj that uses modern machinery. Traditional cooking vessels have been replaced by giant steel cylindrical containers for extracting oil. New distillation techniques have been introduced.
Others say that the big businesses - such as Jain's - will continue to flourish as long as they keep exporting in large numbers. It's the small players who will find it difficult to survive.
Govind Kumar Mehrotra of Puja Perfumery blames the lack of innovation for the lacklustre growth of the industry. According to Mehrotra, Kannauj's Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre, which falls under the Union ministry of medium and small enterprises and was set up to push growth, has failed miserably in its objective.
The Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre office on the outskirts of Makarand Nagar wears a deserted look. Barring a few college students who are here as a part of their college courses and a handful of officers there is no one around. Assistant Director P C Singh gives me a tour of the facility.
The Centre's main job is the research and development of new techniques and fragrances. In doing so, it is tasked with passing on knowledge and expertise to manufacturers. But Mehrotra says that that is hardly being done. "What is the purpose of setting up such a facility, when it is not benefiting the industry at all?" he asks.
However, Singh says that more manufacturers need to attend the centre's training programmes to understand the needs of the industry better. "We have helped raise awareness about traditional perfume. We impart training as well. Only 12 or 13 people from the industry come here for training every month. That number has to improve," he says. "If they're happy using ancient techniques, then there is little that we can do."
Tewari sums up the grim state of the industry perfectly. "Fragrance has become a part of our everyday life. We wake up, brush our teeth with flavoured toothpaste, bathe with a scented soap and then apply perfume. Fragrances will not go out of our lives. It's just a question of whether we want to keep our traditions alive. That is the real challenge here."
Kannauj has been home to a thriving perfume industry since the days of Harshvardhana, who ruled over north India from his capital of Kannauj between 606 and 647 BC and first encouraged the development of fragrances here. Even today, beyond the antique facades of decrepit houses, ittar is prepared using the ancient deg bhapka method - the traditional way of extracting oil from flower petals through steaming and distillation - and then sold to buyers from across the country.
But the last few years have seen the city's perfume industry shrink. A rising demand for alcohol-based fragrances, coupled with the high cost of production, has left sellers and manufacturers alike fearing for their future. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's visit to Grasse in France last month was aimed at saving the slumping industry. Yadav, accompanied by his wife, Kannauj MP Dimple Yadav, and three others, spent four days in the perfume capital of the world to facilitate trade between India and France.
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Yadav's trip to France yielded a proposed venture between Kannauj and Grasse for the sharing of expertise, and a proposal to set up an international perfume museum in Kannauj in collaboration with the French government. The chief minister will send students who wish to study perfumery to Grasse from next year. Also on the table is a plan to introduce a chemical engineering course and a course dedicated solely to perfumery at Kannauj Engineering College.
Perfume is ingrained deep in the DNA of Kannauj. It is a part of its everyday life. For centuries now, the industry has been the mainstay of the city's economy. As I stand in the middle of the one of the oldest perfume markets in the world, I try to find answers to where the industry is headed and whether it might be too late to revive it.
Shrinking market
Gauri Sugandh is one of the most popular perfume destinations in the market. Its owner, Vijay Tewari, a bespectacled 53-year-old dressed in a sky blue check shirt, with tilak smeared on his forehead, sits in his shop surrounded by glass bottles. Tewari asks his attendant to show me the best perfumes. A short fellow hastily obliges, placing on the counter five bottles of the finest ittars the shop has to offer. "This is sunflower," says Tewari proudly, pointing to a conical bottle filled with sparkling yellow perfume. But it doesn't come cheap at Rs 18,000 a litre."
Such high production costs are mainly due to the rising cultivation and labour costs. Maintenance of the age-old equipment is also a major problem.
At such prices, Tewari's chances of good earnings are slim. "Customers have started opting for what we call modern perfume. When a good deodorant can do the same job for you, why spend so much on ittar?" he asks. As I take his leave, Tewari lands a dispiriting parting remark: "Very soon this industry will be all about survival."
At one time, ittar from Kannauj sold all over the country. But the advent of inexpensive alcohol-based fragrances and deodorants has flattened the demand for ittar everywhere. Doomsday, however, may still be some distance away: profits in the ittar market remain strong, with most sellers making a cut of 20-25 per cent.
Abdul Qayyum, a small shopkeeper in the area, puts the dwindling sales down to the lack of tourists that come to the town. He crouches to spit out the tobacco he is chewing and then begins to explain: "Perfume is made in almost every household here. So the locals do not buy from us. It's only visitors like you who can help us," he says. "But unfortunately, there aren't many like you who come to Kannauj." Qayyum, 50, makes just Rs 200-250 a day. He says that if things don't improve, he might start looking at other options to provide for his family, which has four other members.
The younger lot in Kannauj has started to adapt to the changing preferences. Guddu Wasri, a third-generation ittar seller, also sells deodorants because people prefer them to ittar. He also reproduces fragrances by international brands. A fragrance supposedly of Ralph Lauren or Zino Davidoff, for example, is available for Rs 500, whereas the original costs somewhere between Rs 4,000 and Rs 5,000.
Another reason for the industry's woes can be attributed to the partial ban on gutka and chewing tobacco in several states on grounds of public health. Earlier, local manufacturers used to procure scents for their gutka from the ittar makers of Kannauj. Now, that has stopped and the business has taken a tumble.
But there is some optimism too. Sushil Kumar Pandey, who opened shop four months ago, says business is brisk. However, unlike most competitors, Pandey does not manufacture fragrances on his own. Instead, he sources them from Givaco, a Mumbai-based company that produces them at lower costs. "We are just reselling perfume. So there is no cost of production. That is one reason why we've started out well," says Pandey.
Seeking solutions
A visit to Pushpraj Jain's residence-cum-factory, which is a mini landmark in Kannauj, also shows that all is not lost for the ittar industry. Ask any person on the street and he'll happily show you the direction to his house. His Pragati Aroma and Oil Distillers is one of the largest manufacturers of ittar in the country. He accompanied Yadav on his French sojourn as a representative of the industry. At the entrance to his house, an unassuming green gate opens into a sprawling courtyard that is adorned by a fleet of SUVs.
On his office table, amid numerous ittar bottles, are tall cans of pan masala arranged in a neat line. The balding, pot-bellied Jain devours a spoonful of it and begins talking. "There is a fight for technology in the world. Business cannot improve as long as we keep using techniques that are 800-900 years old. The market for natural perfumes has eroded. Chemical perfumes need to be embraced," he says. Jain has manufacturing units in six states and exports perfumes to more than 50 countries.
Jain says that there is a future for natural scents but only if they are made using modern techniques. His factory is one of the few in Kannauj that uses modern machinery. Traditional cooking vessels have been replaced by giant steel cylindrical containers for extracting oil. New distillation techniques have been introduced.
Others say that the big businesses - such as Jain's - will continue to flourish as long as they keep exporting in large numbers. It's the small players who will find it difficult to survive.
Govind Kumar Mehrotra of Puja Perfumery blames the lack of innovation for the lacklustre growth of the industry. According to Mehrotra, Kannauj's Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre, which falls under the Union ministry of medium and small enterprises and was set up to push growth, has failed miserably in its objective.
The Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre office on the outskirts of Makarand Nagar wears a deserted look. Barring a few college students who are here as a part of their college courses and a handful of officers there is no one around. Assistant Director P C Singh gives me a tour of the facility.
The Centre's main job is the research and development of new techniques and fragrances. In doing so, it is tasked with passing on knowledge and expertise to manufacturers. But Mehrotra says that that is hardly being done. "What is the purpose of setting up such a facility, when it is not benefiting the industry at all?" he asks.
However, Singh says that more manufacturers need to attend the centre's training programmes to understand the needs of the industry better. "We have helped raise awareness about traditional perfume. We impart training as well. Only 12 or 13 people from the industry come here for training every month. That number has to improve," he says. "If they're happy using ancient techniques, then there is little that we can do."
Tewari sums up the grim state of the industry perfectly. "Fragrance has become a part of our everyday life. We wake up, brush our teeth with flavoured toothpaste, bathe with a scented soap and then apply perfume. Fragrances will not go out of our lives. It's just a question of whether we want to keep our traditions alive. That is the real challenge here."