Description:
A true attar is perfume oil made from flower petals distilled in water using low heat and pressure. Some attars also contain exotic woods, spices and resins. Over several weeks, the steam containing the fragrance oils is collected into a container of mild sandalwood oil. There, the oils blend together until the sandalwood is completely saturated with the fragrance of the flowers. In the art of perfumery, sandalwood oil is used as a \\'base\\', or \\'fixative\\'. It binds with the molecules of the fragrance oils and allows their subtleties to develop and last longer than if the flower oil was wor
Common Use:
The Indian perfumes in the past was used by the elite, particularly kings and queens. Also it is used in Hindu temples. Today it is used in numerous ways:1. Pan Masala and Gutka is the largest consumer of Indian perfumes. The reason for using it is its extraordinary tenacity along with characteristic to withstand with tobacco note. The perfumes used are Rose, Kewra, Mehndi, Hina, Shamama, Mitti, Marigold etc.2. Tobacco is smaller segment for perfume consumption as compared to above industry. The perfumes used are mainly kewra & Rose. Along with Pan masala & Gutkha it contributes to more th
History:
The word \\'attar\\', \\'ittar\\' or \\'othr\\' is basically an Arabic word which means \\'scent\\'; this in turn is believed to have been derived from the Persian word Atr, meaning \\'fragrance\\'.The story of Indian perfumes is as old as the civilization itself. Archaeological evidence shows the earliest inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent held plants in great reverence. With the passage of time, scented oils were extracted by pressing, pulverizing or distilling aromatic vegetable and animal produce. Early indications of this activity are available from the perfume jars and terracotta containers of the Indus Valley civilization, where archeological work has revealed round copper stills, used for the distillation process that are at least five-thousand years old (reference req.). These stills are called degs. Following the seasons of the flowers, traditional ittar-makers, with their degs, traveled all over India to make their fresh ittars on-the-spot. Even now, a few traditional ittar-makers still travel with their degs to be close to the harvest.