The Festive Scent

“They are all pure and do not contain any alcohol. They are natural extracts and essences hence their fragrances linger on for longer time spans,” informs Ahmed. His store,Ahmed Perfumes,was established in 1953 by his grandfather Abdul Qadir. Some of the essences sold include the Majmua,Patcholi and Shamama that comprise ingredients like henna,musk,amber and khus.

Shaikh says,“Unlike perfumes that are sold in millilitres,attar is sold in grams. A 2.5 gram bottle of attar can cost anywhere between Rs 30 to Rs 60. Higher weight bottles like the 5 gm or the 10 gm ones can cost between Rs 70 to Rs 300. Some of the more expensive perfumes include the Oodh,and the Resheequa that use floral extracts.” Shaikh’s father used to make the perfume extracts himself earlier.

Feroz Ali and Ashfaque Attar,who run FAA Perfumes located on Sacchapir street,say that the art of making the perfumes is slowly dying. “This is because of mass production. Plus,attars alone don’t sell. We have to stock perfume sprays too. Even though they are alcohol-based,we have to sell them. People want them. Hence making them in small quantities doesn’t justify costs,” says Attar.

“Mukhallat-e-Mallaki and the Jannat-Ul-Firdaus are some of the most expensive perfumes we sell. They cost up to Rs 5000 per tola (10 grams). These essences come from far-off places like Assam,Kannauj and are made from sandalwood,henna,and rose extracts,” says Ahmed.

Twenty-one-year-old Arif Sayyed,whose small ‘Bharat Perfumes’ near Deccan has been selling perfumes for over 50 years says that the profit margins are very less. “People now prefer sprays. A lot of them say that the strong fragrances of attars are overwhelming. And sales around the year are usually not very high except during Ramzan. During the year,we have to supplement this by selling bottled sprays and perfumes,kohl,incense sticks and even scented candles,” he says.