Kannauj’s Fragrance Legacy: This Master Perfumer Takes You On A Sensory Journey
Riding on the back of his family's perfumery legacy, Pranav Kapoor, an 8th-generation perfumer, wants to put India on the fragrance map of the world with his perfume tourism initiative
A short walk inside the bustling lanes of Kannauj opens up your sense of smell to the vigours of different scents; roses, jasmine, and sandalwood all vie for your attention, and the shopkeepers in this old city beckon you to one of the many stores that bottle heady aromas into neat little attars.
Kannauj today has little semblance to the mighty town it once was as the capital of Emperor Harsha (590 to 647 CE); at that time, it was called Kanyakubja. What has remained intact is its association with the art of perfumery. This charming town has been known for its exquisite perfumes and attars for centuries, the most famous being mitti-attar, where the perfume-makers of Kannauj distil the fragrance of fresh rain as it falls on dry soil. There is a quaint term for this particular aroma – petrichor. Mitti-attar draws tourists far and wide, and perfumes reign supreme in this dusty town.
A man selling ittars on the streets of India
Although Kannauj Perfumes got the Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2014, more needs to be done on a scale large enough to turn it into a destination like Grasse, a quaint French town dubbed as the ‘perfume capital of the world. Today, India’s oldest perfume town is battling other brands and struggling to retain its traditional ways. Nonetheless, from the epicentre of this city, many homegrown brands have emerged to reclaim their story and fragrant ways, and one initiative hopes to put India on the perfume map of the world.
Perfume Tourism
Kannauj is a treasure trove of fragrant delights, and visiting this city is like stepping into a world of scents and aromas. And Pranav Kapoor’s family has been distilling many organic products like flowers to create these magical elixirs for 200 years. A chef by profession, this 8th-generation perfumer is championing perfume tourism, and his initiative aims to put the spotlight back on his hometown.
Rose petals in a pile at the perfumery
“Kannauj is the perfume capital of India, and I want to educate Indians about it. The West has known about Kannauj for decades; all major fragrance companies worldwide have been coming here for business. But unfortunately, many Indians don’t know that a place like Kannauj, with its rich history not just with fragrance but as a city that was once the capital of all of northern India, even exists,” he expresses.
The Base Note
The idea for perfume tourism came to Kapoor on holiday in Jaisalmer in 2017. “As a perfumer and a chef, it only made sense to combine my family’s legacy with my culinary background into an immersive experience,” he shares. Kapoor refurbished his 120-year-old haveli into a property that offered an immersive experience in the art of perfume-making, officially launching in March 2023 with curated itineraries that combined fragrance and flavour.
Guests can craft their own fragrances at the Perfume Bar
Once in Kannauj, guests stay in a 120-year-old haveli-turned-perfume house with a fragrance gallery and a perfume bar at their disposal. The two-day itinerary takes travellers on an olfactory journey. Visit farms where the season’s flower is harvested, then to the distillery where guests are introduced to the 3000-year-old art of distilling through copper utensils. They can formulate their signature scent at the perfume bar and then partake in a 7-course degustation menu – a unique dining experience of delectable regional and local cuisine paired with an accompanying fragrance.
Pranav’s perfume tourism initiative was launched with the Rose Festival this year
Pranav’s perfume tourism initiative was launched with the Rose Festival this year. The itinerary was curated around the flower, distilled across the city, followed by a rose-inspired menu using only locally sourced ingredients. Next on the agenda is the Jasmine Festival, which starts on May 1st and will take perfume connoisseurs on an intimate jasmine-centred excursion around Kannauj. And tourism, he believes, will create more avenues for income generation in local families, who have been mastering the art of perfume-making for generations. But Kapoor’s ambitions for India’s perfumed history can not be contained in a bottle.
A Whiff Of History
While the attar-makers of Kannauj can draw out fragrances from the simplest of natural ingredients, the history of perfumery in India is spread far and wide. This is why Pranav’s future for perfume tourism involves creating, what he calls, the Fragrance Map of India.
Guests can take part in the plucking process for distillation of rose or jasmine
On a more holistic fragrance trail that will span the length and breadth of India, Kapoor plans to take people to Jammu and Kashmir for lavender and saffron; this trail is in the works and starts in September. Other iconic experiences on the map include travelling south for the sandalwood and spices, Himachal for cedar wood and aromatic oils, Orissa for the marigold and kewra and Assam, of course, for Oud.
“Apart from Kannauj, I also want to highlight other parts of India specialising in distilling lavender, sandalwood, Oud and other ingredients to be part of the perfume trail. I aim to create a fragrance map that takes visitors across India in search and appreciation of the finest ingredients known to man. India has it all, and it’s time we take control of the narrative and put it out there for the world to see. This is the perfect experience that fills a need gap,” Kapoor shares.
