A walk around the chaotic streets of Charminar especially during the month of Ramzan is always a revelation. Numerous old shops stand shoulder to shoulder. Tucked in corners are a few small shops selling attar, some of which have been here since 1897. To any casual observer they almost look like curio shops. Despite attar losing its popularity to international branded perfumes and deodorants, it still has many takers in the Old City of Hyderabad.
The strong fragrance of the attar meanders around the shops beckoning some of the curious passers by. Rows of shiny bottles line the walls of these shops. Small steps lead to the elevated shops and the owners sit on a takht with roll pillows neatly placed on either side as they ask their customers to comfortably settle down. The process of dabbing a small drop of attar on hand and taking a long strong whiff is what follows next. “Attars are perfumes without alcohol and that’s important for the Muslims,” says Divesh Kothari whose ancestors migrated from Gujarat and started the attar shop Bhagwan and Company during the time of the Nizams. He says it’s not just the Muslims, even people of other religions use attar for their auspicious ceremonies.
Some of the natural perfumes have been in the market for 60 to 70 years but synthetic perfumes give more scope of mixing different fragrances. “Natural perfumes have sandalwood oil which is why they are very expensive. Only the Nizams could afford it, while the synthetic ones are cheaper. Even the odour lasts longer,” informs Divesh Kothari.
Ashwini Kumar is the fourth generation attar seller of the famous Purnadas Ranchhoddas shop. He says due to the numerous government restrictions on sandalwood oil, natural attars are difficult to make. While floral and herb extracts go into making natural attars, aromatic chemicals are used to get the desirable fragrance for the synthetic one. “There are two different ways of making attar — one is the distillation process used to make the natural ones and the other is blending. It’s blending of essential oils,” he explains. About 3 ml attar can cost Rs.30-100 depending on the variety. Attar has a huge market among the foreign tourists as well. If it’s not the smell of the perfume, the beautiful glass bottles attract these customers. Tourists from all over the world come to these shops hunting for attars as a souvenir.
However, there are people like S.A. Gaffar who claims to make natural attars. Apart from attars, he has surma and few books on Islam. Snugly fitted between a glass cupboard and a wooden bench, he takes out a bottle of sandalwood oil and says, “I make them at home, and it takes almost three to four months to bring out a bottle of attar.” In a year he makes around 10 kilograms of attar and the price range also starts from Rs. 200.
The aromas of attar may have lost their fragrance in modern times, but the age old attar sellers are unwilling to give up their family business. Simply walking down these shops makes one realise why, after all a slice of Hyderabad is blended into these attar bottles.
