‘Attar’ delight: 90 years on, store keeps customers under spell with range of fragrances
BENGALURU: When we set out in search of an attar store, the only information in hand is the store’s location – Shivajinagar. As we make our way through the hustle and bustle of the area, with a major bus depot, street hawkers selling food, flowers and clothing, the scent of perfume leads us to Imaad Perfumes, quite effortlessly. After all, in this month of Ramzan, men and women use attar generously owing to the belief that it was a favourite of Prophet Mohammed, who used it frequently. “Staying clean and using attar/ittar are sunnah (tradition) for us,” says Jawad Khan, a third-generation businessman, whose family has been into the business for over 91 years.
As we find our way around the prominent store located diagonally opposite the Sultan Shah Mosque, which houses 1,000 varieties of the non-alcoholic perfume, Khan is busy suggesting the best ones to buy to customers. In between sales talk, he tells us that the thick coloured scents – extracted from flowers, herbs, spices or barks of trees and then distilled naturally without using any chemical or alcoholic additives – fly off the shelves during this season. “While we usually cater to 250 customers on a daily basis, during Ramzan, we have at least 1,000 customers a day. People come here either before or after namaz to try on attar since we also offer free trials,” adds Rafeeq Ulla Khan, who has been managing the store for 25 years.
Khan is quick to point out that their customer base cuts across age, gender and religion. “Many Christians and Hindus also come here to buy them as gifts for others. We often have people from different parts of the country or different countries coming here after having heard about the varieties we have,” he says about the attar that come in fancy crystal bottles, which are imported from France and China, measuring 3ml, 6ml and 12ml, with prices starting from a nominal Rs 50 and going to up as much as Rs 60,000.
With their clientele having gone up significantly, Khan says they plan to increase their workforce from 20 to 30 considering the demand. In addition to the regular collection comprising Oudh (a fragrance derived from Agarwood), Mukhallat Suefi (spicy wood blends and floral top notes), Mukhallat Aroosa (aqua floral fragrance), Sultan (oriental woody aroma), Misk (fresh fragrance from white lotus), during Ramzan they also have Widad, a musky blend of citrus and vanilla, Fithoor, a citrus variety, Riaz Ul Jannah, containing a fruity overtone, Zaharan, a blend of Oudh and citrus, and Maha, a blend of citrus and sandalwood with a fruity overtone. “Every six months we introduce new varieties. All the attars are made here.
The most popular fragrance among customers between 18 and 30 are Sublime, a citrus fragrance, Riaz Ul Jannah and Widad. “Youngsters mostly prefer fresh notes which contain citric fragrances over the oriental woody fragrances,” says Khan, pointing out that customers over 30 prefer Oudhs. “We also blend Oudh with ambar and rose. The most exotic blends of Oudhs are Oudh Rahmani and Mukhallat Harmain,” said Khan, adding that Misk and Tohfa (fragrance of tulips) are the fastest moving attars among women customers.
Mohammed Yahaya, a resident of Shivajinagar, who has been frequenting the store for over 20 years, says he keeps returning to the store since they have “authentic attars and the exotic blends.” “I keep coming back for the Mukhallat Harmainis, a blend of Oudh, amber and rose), which is my personal favourite,” he says.
A first-time customer, Afsal Mohammed was looking for a store that would have both variety and reasonable pricing and was suggested Imaad by a friend. “I recently bought Sublime for its fresh fragrance,” said the resident of Indiranagar.