Gulab Singh Jorimahal

So, I went to Chandni Chowk's most famous attarwallah yesterday and had a preliminary conversation over bottles of essential oils to Krishan Mohan in the store about the process of attar making, the possibilities for transferring the scent to other materials, and whether or not (and how) solid perfumes are made in India. The answer to the last question is no, not exactly, or certainly not in the manner of the French in Grasse; solid perfumes in the West are essential oils mixed with wax. In India, "solid" is actually the lint, or dregs from the bottom of the pan, as it were, that congeal more readily. This "solid" perfume is sold incredibly cheaply, mostly blended, in small soapstone pots - for around 50 INR each. It is poured in to the pots liquid and slowly solidifies over time. It has the consistency of a cream, rather than the more solid wax. Food for thought.