ALLAHABAD, June 14: In an era when the word perfume connotes exotic whiff of French eau de toilettes and eau de Colognes, the traditional Indian attar or Itr is battling to retain its fragrance. The situation is paradoxical considering the fact that while in cosmetics herbal products are stealing a march over synthetic preparations, the flower power of attar is being muscled out by foreign synthetic clones.

Small wonder then that alarm bells are ringing in almost every household of Kannauj, a small district some 75 kilometre off Kanpur on the Delhi-Kanpur national highway, which found its place on the world map both on account of the legendary Prithviraj Chauhan-Samyukta love saga as well as by virtue of being the only place which specialises in manufacture of attar.

Here every second house is engaged in extracting essential oils and producing attars through an ancient and laborious process of distilling in huge earthen equipment. Depending on the kind of attar, time taken for production can take anywhere between three months to a couple of years.

With more than 25,000 of the total 70,000 population of Kannauj engaged in the attar industry, it is being alleged that the short-sighted policies of successive governments are responsible for the gradual degeneration of this cottage industry.

Says A N Tandon, proprietor of Devi Prasad Sunder Lal Khatri Perfumers, among the oldest attar manufacturing units in Kannauj, "Attar being an expensive item with prices ranging from Rs 1,500 per kg to as much as Rs 10 lakh per kg, the market is very limited.

What makes matters worse for us is the steep hike in prices of sandalwood, an item controlled by the government, which makes sandalwood oil, the main base of our industry, prohibitively expensive for us. "At present, the price of sandalwood oil is around Rs 8,500 per kg.

Not surprisingly, then, India has relinquished its position to Indonesia as the major supplier of sandalwood oil the world-over. Not only that, China has usurped the position of largest supplier of menthol, another essential oil which is an important base for the perfume industry, from India which was the leading menthol supplier till about four or five years ago.

"Technique-wise we are very backward apart from the fact that no real effort is being made to upgrade crop yield and quality through concerted agricultural research. This is the main reason why other countries have been able to score an edge over India,'' says Tandon.

What has also led to a substantial decline in the production of sandalwood oil in the country is the fact that no real attempt has been made to curtail export of sandalwood.

Periodically, the government releases large consignments of this restricted commodity for the export market while some amount finds its way out of the country through clandestine routes. This has not only resulted in steep increases in the price of sandalwood oil but has also perpetrated domestic smuggling of sandalwood.

Interestingly, sandalwood is exported largely to the Middle East, where burning sandalwood is the traditional form of welcoming guests and to South East Asian countries, like Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore and Japan, where the wood is used to make handicrafts.

With the odds stacked so heavily against the attar manufacturers, it is no mean feat that they are managing to keep their head above water.

While the tobacco industry is by far the largest consumer of attar which is responsible for the aroma of cigarettes, the rapidly growing pan masala industry is emerging as another major consumer. Together, they consume almost 90 per cent of the attar produced.

A mere 5 per cent is used in the form of perfume by traditional diehards who have steadfastly refused to be seduced by the synthetic fragrances in vogue now. While it is difficult to quantify the exact turnover, given the fact that it is essentially a cottage industry, it is estimated that Kannauj produces Rs 60 crore worth of attar.

Mounting costs of sandalwood oil and consequently attar, it is being alleged, is forcing pan masala and tobacco industry to substitute it with synthetic perfumes made from aromatic chemicals and synthetic resins.

``Since these are not edible and even dangerous to health, the government should ban their use immediately,'' says Yaqub Khan, another major attar manufacturer of Kannauj.

Resourcefulness is coming handy in bailing out the attar makers. "I was recently talking to a leading Mumbai film producer and suggested that he try using attar produced by us in cinema halls while picturising a rain scene.

It smells exactly like earth after the first rain and would create an ambience which could keep the audience spell-bound, attracting larger audiences,'' quipped another manufacturer.

Reel life apart, attar manufacturers are also promoting the product for therapeutic purposes. ``The fragrance of different herbs and flowers were known to cure various ailments during ancient times. For instance, mehandi fragrance is known for its heat inducing qualities and if used on quilts during winters, it is known to provide extra heating.

However, if inhaled during summer it can lead to nasal bleeding as well,'' says Tandon whose company has been approached by US research institutes who want to study the therapeutic aspects of the attar industry extensively. If successful, it could soon find a market in the pharmaceutical sector as well.

Ingenious attar manufacturers have also devised ways and means of circumventing laws designed to protect endangered species like the musk deer which were earlier killed for their fragrance. "We can now remove the deer's fragrance by injecting it out through its stomach without having to kill it," revealed an attar manufacturer.

Officially, though, musk is a prohibited item. The mushrooming of the herbal cosmetic industry is emerging as another marketing outlet.

Recently, the Uttar Pradesh Government has floated some schemes in a bid to revive the industry. Whether they succeed or not remains to be seen. But attar manufacturers are not ready to call it a day yet and firmly believe that the smell of home-grown perfumes will outlast the Yves Saint Laurents, Nina Riccis and Lancomes.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.