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The Legend of Myrhha 17 September 2016

Revered since the past 5000 years, myrhh has been used for medicinal to devotional purposes. Perhaps the most enduring memory of myrhh has to be when it was one of the three gifts the wise man carried to offer the baby Jesus.

When a tree wound penetrates through the bark and into the sapwood, the myrhh gum is emitted and is harvested to be used. It has a bitter aroma. Through history, it has been used in perfumery, incense and medicine and can even be used in the culinary arts, when mixed with wine.

Such a long history would yield certain lore and perhaps the most iconic, and tragic, is that of Myrhha. The daughter of King Cinyras and Queen Cenchreis of Cyprus, Myrhha claimed she was more beautiful than Aphrodite. Upset that a mere mortal sought to overthrow Aphrodite’s power, the goddess instilled in the girl an unnatural attraction towards her father.

Myrhha tried to take her own life to escape the torture but was stopped by her nursemaid who aided her in deceiving her father by getting into his bed. When he found out, he was justifiably enraged and tried to kill her. Full of remorse, a pregnant Myrhha escaped to the desert for nine months. Zeus finally took pity on her and turned her into a tree – neither living nor dead as the crime was too severe for either realm.

At the time of the delivery, she was aided by Lucina and her nymphs, who bathed the baby boy in the tree’s fragrant ‘tears’ – myrhh. The boy grew up to be Adonis, desired by both Aphrodite & Perspephone that created a rift between them. The situation was resolved when Zeus decreed it so that Adonis must be in the mortal realm for six months and in the underworld for the next six.

So as it is said, the tree weeps bitter & fragrant tears of guilt that are often converted to incense – an offering to appease the Gods for Myrhha’s sin.

Symbolizing the beginning of spring, Violets are one of the most loved flowers across the world with their dainty nature and myth-laden meanings. There are many variants of the flower and is used in medicine and perfumery predominantly.

There are several legends that speak of violets – in fact, it is the natural flower of Greece because of the abundance of its presence in myths – and stands for spirituality, purity & humility on one hand and royalty and power on the other.

Here’s a few of our favourite myths…

Athens is often called the ‘Violet-Crowned City’. It harks back to ancient times when Ion, the founder, was crowned and the water nymphs expressed their support by offering violets as a sign of their support. The flowers became Athens’ symbol and no hearth or home was complete without these.

Another legend talks of how Zeus fell in love with Io, a nymph. To hide her from Hera’s range, he turned her into a cow and then created the sweet violets for her to eat, instead of coarse grass.

In Christian art, violets symbolize The Virgin Mary’s humility. One tale talks how violets were originally white until Mary saw her son suffer on the cross. At the time, all the white turned to purple to echo her anguish.

In modern times, Napolean, when he was exiled on the island of Elba, stated he would return in spring with the violets. This was used as a code by his supporters, who when asked ‘Do you like violets’, instead of saying yes or no, would say ‘Eh Bien’, thereby expressing their loyalty.

In our Seven Islands perfume, Violet is a heart base, along with Peach, Jasmine and Frankincense. Its woody-floral scent is enhanced by peach’s sweetness, jasmine’s freshness and frankincense’s citrusy woodiness.

From haute to not and back again, Patchouli has played a colourful role in trade and lifestyle rituals. Extensively cultivated in tropical countries, the plant has a variety of uses ranging from perfumery and aromatherapy to cooking.

The plant first gained fame on the international stage when luxurious wares were exported from India and wrapped in patchouli leaves to preserve them. Over time, the smell of patchouli oil was irrevocably linked to genuine Oriental products. It is said that Napolean introduced patchouli oil-infused silk shawls to the discerning European clientele when he picked them up by way of Egypt. As a result, the scent would be transferred to skin and hair, thereby making it the scent of an age. However, as trends rise and wane, this too met its end and the same luxurious shawls made their way to prostitutes’ wardrobes and the aroma of patchouli oil was reviled.

The plant came into the spotlight centuries later when it was strongly associated with the Hippie Movement. Though used extensively for its scent and restorative powers, it did get a bit of notoriety by those who were not part of the culture.

Within perfumery, legend has it that the patchouli oil mixed with lemongrass and rose oil was first used by Indian nobility and the strong sweet yet musky scent was a marker of distinction between the wealthy and those less privileged.

Image by Mike Cohen via Flickr

Though there are synthetic variants available, Bombay Perfumery uses the real deal, sourced from Indonesia. For our Sulawesi perfume, patchouli is a base note, bringing depth and boosting the top and heart notes.

Out for a Long Walk in Sulawesi

Seawall by Richard Diebenkorn

Go-Kart Track by Jill Peters

Undergrowth with Two Figures – Vincent Van Gogh

Retour by Revital Cohen & Tuur Van Balen

Lee Jeonglok

Taberna by Robert Young

Tinged with a certain historical quality, Black Pepper is a distinctive ingredient. Revered for its importance in trade, the spice as it’s commonly known of as Black Gold has maintained its hold in international palates.

Originally grown in India, specifically the Malabar coast, the spice was first taken to Indonesian islands to Pacific Islands to Africa & America. Predominantly used for seasoning, pepper was a must-have at noble tables, a monopoly that extended to the 1400s, when the spice trade opened up. Indeed, the value of pepper was held very dear – for instance, when the Visigoths attacked Rome in 401 AD, the ransom paid for Roman citizens comprised several tons of gold and silver, thousands of tunics and hides and 3000 pounds of pepper. Apart from seasoning, it is used to in curing muscle aches and aromatherapy.

In perfumery, the essential oil is derived through steam distillation of the dried, unripe fruit. The aroma tends to be warm, soothing and spicy as well as fresh, the blend of which adds a bit of depth to the scent. Today, Indian & Indonesian pepper is primarily used in distillation.

Though it is often used as top note to pique interest, for our Calicut perfume, we’ve used Black Pepper as a heart note. The heart notes form the body of the perfume and emerge when the top notes dissipate. Along with black pepper, we have used nutmeg and cedarwood for the heart notes which add a sweet & spicy pungency and sombre woodiness, respectively, that all together provides a well-rounded body of scents.

In a nutshell, Bombay Perfumery is about indie artistry meeting contemporary style. Inspired by traditional know-how, we’re also driven by a need to use the best of innovative tech. One of the most intriguing methods out there to extract the essence of an object is Head Space technology.

Reminiscent of futuristic design, the tech aims to capture the ambient fragrance around an object. Say you want to capture the exact experience of smelling a rose. A clear sphere is locked around the rose and it acts like a camera in that it captures the molecules around the rose. This gives the perfumer raw data to understand the chemical make-up of the rose as it is.

Incredibly fragrant, the Chinese Osmanthus is a thing of beauty. It is often cultivated for ornamental usage as its blooms carry the scent of ripe peaches or apricots and is closely related to the Chinese Mid-Autumn festival, symbolizing love and faithfulness.

Our Chai Musk perfume has Chinese Osmanthus as one of the ingredients in the heart base, thus giving it a well-rounded persona with its fruity-leathery scent. Apart from perfumery, it is used in cooking, ceremonies and medicine and is an important part of Chinese culture.

Its ceremonial usage is so fascinating, especially after we looked up the myths surrounding this flower, especially lunar legends that are celebrated during autumn.

The legend of the Moon Palace speaks of how the Jade Emperor held sacrifices to the sun during spring and the moon during autumn. One day, he was invited by a magic Taoist priest Luo to visit the Moon Palace. Naturally excited, the emperor agreed and Luo summoned a magical silver bridge to the moon. At the end of it was a breath-taking palace with an osmanthus tree occupying a place of prestige in the courtyard and a Jade Rabbit under the tree, mixing potions for an eternal life. Bejewelled dancers accompanied by music entertained the emperor, while he enjoyed cakes shaped like the full moon. On his return, he ordered cakes modelled on his experience.

The Moon Palace and its magical osmanthus tree features once more in the legend of Wu Gang. Driven by jealousy, he made the mistake of overstepping and was sentenced to the moon by the emperor. He was commanded to trim the osmanthus tree – however, the tree was a magical one and immediately grew back. The cycle of trimming and recovering goes on for centuries as the jade rabbit sits under the tree, creating the elixir of immortality, that helps the tree to recover. A Greek variant of such a legend was that of Sisyphus, who has been condemned by Zeus to push a boulder to the top of the mountain for it to roll back again, and for him to repeat the process for eternity.

Perhaps the most heart-breaking story associated with the osmanthus flower is that of Chang’E. Her husband, the master archer Hou Yi was awarded the pill of elixir by the emperor but Chang’e decided to abandon him and steal the pill for herself, thereby gaining the ability to fly. She flew all the way to the moon palace, where she was condemned to live a life of solitude. Till today, it is said that Chang’e roams the moon sorrowfully, with the sweet-smelling osmanthus tree reminding her of love lost. She did ask the jade rabbit to help her with a pill that would take her back home to her husband, but as the rabbit is creating the elixir of immortality, he can’t spare time to help her out. She still roams around, waiting.

A Walk through Calicut’s Ancient Bazaars 17 September 2016

Calicut, or Kohzikode, as it’s known today, has cast a long shadow in the history of trade. Strategically located on the West Coast of India, its location and people made it perfect for traders and travellers, from Zheng He to Vasco da Gama, to drop their anchors.  The rich port had much to offer, with spices taking the front seat in negotiations.

A popular myth as told by Kottarathil Shankunni in his Aithihyamala recounts the prosperity of Calicut through the presence of Lakshmi in its marketplace. Around the year 1760, The Zamorin of Calicut complained of a sharp pain in his right shoulder and though he followed the advice of noted doctors, the pain would not cease. One day, a traveller who had heard of his predicament offered a solution – to keep a wet towel over his shoulder – and it worked.

When the Zamorin’s learned Dewan came back and heard of this treatment, he grew suspicious of the traveller and realised that something was afoot. He rushed to the marketplace, searched far and wide, and finally came across the person he was looking for – a graceful lady. He begged her to wait for him as he had forgotten something at the palace. After reaching the palace, he proceeded to kill himself and was thus, never able to meet the lady, who in turn could not leave the marketplace as she had promised him she would wait for him.

The lady here symbolized Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth & Abundance, who now has a permanent home in Calicut’s marketplace. By placing a wet towel over his right shoulder, the Zamorin had effectively driven Lakshmi away but the Dewan met her just in time. Therefore, as legend has it, Calicut’s riches grew but the Zamorin lost his position and wealth over time.

Myth Via Historical Alleys
http://historicalleys.blogspot.in/2009/05/prosperity-at-marketplace-calicut.html

A highly acclaimed architect and interior design, Ashiesh Shah is also known for his discerning eye when it comes to art. Asking him to be on board for our Sensorium was both a no-brainer and a privilege.

Taken in by our bottle, which is in itself a reinvention of the traditional Indian matka, he created a lamp stand. Characterised by a vocabulary of clean lines and geometric forms, the stand appears minimal but is full of subtle details.

Perhaps the juxtaposition of materials is what keeps the eye drawn to the object. Created using brass, the stand appears almost sculptural – and when paired with the immaterial liquid perfume form, it represents both the tangible and the intangible.

Drawing inspiration from mid century masters like Le Corbusier and Ettore Sottsass, the stand exudes an almost vintage meets contemporary feel.

Artist and designer Krsnaa Mehta is known for his contemporary Indian-chic take on design. The visually distinctive work is always inspired and iconic.

For our Sensorium, Mehta was primarily driven by the idea of deriving essence. Bombay, with its Art Deco architecture, served as inspiration.

His artwork sought to capture this, along with Bombay Perfumery’s range of perfumes. Complex in its core along with a fluid simplicity that encompasses its world, this art represents both Bombay as well as Bombay Perfumery. The result is a dynamic piece, bringing to mind walking through the bylanes of Bombay.

Floral couturer Nazneen Jehnagir has always been inspired by flowers, from the sidewalk to the stores, which is why working with them has been a natural transition. A direct connect to the world of perfumery and Nazneen’s way about floral couture got us excited to have her on board for the Sensorium.

Titled ‘Mumbai in eMotion’, Nazneen’s starting point was the Dabbawalla of Bombay as symbolic of the spirit of Bombay; resilient and beautiful.

A cycle laden with dabbas and flowers – rose, tuberose, mandarin, lemongrass among others – was created while the vintage TV at the back played black and white visuals of a timeless Bombay.

Bombay Stampede : An Installation by Lekha Washington 15 November 2016

With her keen eye and distinct style, artist and product designer Lekha Washington, created an interactive installation piece for our Sensorium.

Titled ‘Bombay Stampede’, the piece had empty windows waiting for the audience to come in and stamp their impressions and observations of Bombay.

From Edward Munch’s ‘The Scream’ to a rare unicorn, the windows showcased a personal rendition of the city we call home together, thereby linking it to Bombay Perfumery’s very essence.