Asghar Ali Mohamed Ali Perfumers, Lucknow ( © MATIN KHAN)Advertisement for Hina Perfume ‘(THE PIONEE
Asghar Ali Mohamed Ali Perfumers, Lucknow ( © MATIN KHAN)Advertisement for Hina Perfume ‘(THE PIONEER’, LUCKNOW)>> NASIMA AZIZ, A Mesh of MemoriesMy in-laws owned the perfume factory for the manufacture of oriental perfumes which was established in 1839 by two brothers from Kannauj: Asghar Ali and Mohammed Ali. It was located in Hina Building in Chowk, which was pulled down in 2003. The family owned a distillation plant in Gunjan in Orissa, where the keora plant grows. Roses came from Barwana near Aligarh, motia, bela, chameli and khus from Kannauj. When the first monsoon rain fell on clay soil, this clay was boiled in huge pots and its perfume distilled to make the aroma of rain on dry earth – itr gil. When Partition happened my husband’s grandfather, Haji Istifa, and some of his children decided to go to Pakistan, so 75 per cent of the family property was taken over by the Custodian. The Government allowed the children who stayed behind to keep the factory since it was their source of livelihood. -- source link
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