The city of Kannauj is a little over 2 hours away from Kanpur in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Even though it is an ancient city with a rich history, there is something else that may catch your fancy. The city is often regarded as the perfume capital of India. By this we don’t mean that you will find bottles of your favourite designer brands at a slashed price. Even better, you will find the indomitable attar. The regal perfume of the ancient world.
The city has a long history of making perfumes, with some experts estimating that the practice dates back to thousands of years. The art of attar is well-known here in the city. While perfumes use an alcohol base, attars are known to use essential oils, such as the traditional sandalwood oil. Interestingly, a 7th century biography of Indian emperor Harsha, called Harsha-Charit, has references to agarwood oil that was used in those days. The biography was written by Banabhatta.
A trip to the perfume capital of India
