Mysore Agarbathi is a variety of

incense sticks Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also be ...

manufactured at Mysore using locally grown ingredients which was found only in state of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

before. This incense has been awarded

Geographical Indication A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, ...

tag from the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

in 2005 due to its historic background and remote availability of material used. Aptly, Mysore is also home to the world's largest manufacturer of agarbathi - N. Ranga Rao & Sons popularly known for th
Cycle Pure Agarbathies
.

History

The making of incense sticks, also called 'agarbathi' in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

, became an organised industry in Bangalore during the 1900s and was locally known as oodabathies (blowing fumes). The incense sticks were very simple to manufacture, as it was only a paste of natural ingredients mixed with charcoal and Gijit, and rolled on to bamboo sticks. The proportion of mixing was of main importance. Maharaja of Mysore was patronised the production and promotion of the incense sticks. Mr T.l Updhayay from Thirithalli,

Shimoga Shimoga, officially known as Shivamogga, is a city and the district headquarters of Shimoga district in the central part of the state of Karnataka, India. The city lies on the banks of the Tunga River. Being the gateway for the hilly region of ...

and Attar Khasim Sahib from

Tanjavur Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...

started incense industry in Mysore in 1885. When they were given a certificate of merit from Wembley exhibition, London, the Mysore local government gave the incense sticks as gifts to visitors and guests from abroad to encourage exports to other countries.

Method of manufacturing

Herbs, flowers, Essential oil, barks, roots, charcoal are finely ground into smooth paste and then rolled on to a bamboo stick and then dried undersun, special wood like

sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods for us ...

, Ailanthus malabaricum which yields halmadi and other natural ingredients were geographically only available in Karnataka before which gives special geographical indications

Geographical Indication

The all India agarbhati association proposed the registration of Mysore Agarbathi under the Geographical Indications of Goods Act, 1999, to the Office of the Controller-General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks,

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, in order to make it exclusive the manufacturers of insence sticks who use only local available natural ingredients from the region to use the name Mysore. It was granted the Geographical Indication status, three years later, in 2005.

References

Mysore Geographical indications in Karnataka Incense in India {{India-econ-stub

History

Method of manufacturing

Geographical Indication

See also

References