SCENT OF A WOMAN -’SURTI SUGANDHIS’....................................
Ever since our very own Surti siren, Southie hottie Ms.Namitha Vankawala stated that Surat has the most beautiful women in the world, we Surtis now have more in common with Paris than just the Eiffel tower. In fact, we share more similarities with Paris, read on......

The French take their wine, cheese and chocolate very seriously, as do they their fragrance; constantly educating themselves on the finer points of these; Whilst Surat is well known for its ‘khaani-peeni’, it is also a place where one would find various shops that sell perfumes, attars and colognes.

Paris has been the world’s perfume capital since the days of the Versailles Royalty, essential oils and perfumes from the world over have been imported into Surat since the ancient times. Few know that within town, we have perfumeries that manufacture and even export basic perfume ingredients as well as exclusive attars.

Perfumes are a fruitful and serious business in Tapi town. The Bhagatalav area has a number of the oldest perfumeries in town. Known as ‘Sugandhi shops’, they also sell incense sticks along with fragrances. Attars are their main business. The ingredients for these come all the way from Kanoj, Lucknow and Kanpur. Herb and flower oil, sandalwood, fruit essence etc go into the making of these. Beautiful hand crafted antique glass bottles neatly laid out in rows or fancy display units hold exotic looking, heady fragrances that have unisex appeal.

Sold in roll on vials of 5, 7.5 and 10 mls. These concentrates last much beyond other scents that usually tend to evaporate in temperatures above 40 degrees. Attars like perfumes should be worn according to the colour of your outfit, to enhance their appeal. While one has to maintain a distance of 4-6 inches while spraying on perfume, Attars can be applied at all pulse point and nape of the neck, small of the back to feel like Cleopatra, in the land of turiyapatra. Or better still, you could dab some on cotton balls and place them in your wardrobe.

Lest you think only French perfumes have exotic names, Surti shops offer,’Jannat-ul-firdaus’,’Meera’,’London Night’,’Oudh’,’Inter cool’,’Trio’ etc. Most of them ,claim the shop keepers ,are made to imitate popular imported perfumes, although I laughed off that possibility, I discovered one that smells exactly like Ralph Lauren’s- Polo Sport pour homme.

Romantic stories usually mention how the lover gets his amour the biggest, rarest perfume bottle from Paris to profess his love. Although not as subtle as French fragrances, these Surti Sugandhis fare just as well. Local shops especially the ones in Varaccha and Udhna have a horde of customers who buy perfume bottles, to please their beloved. A lot of shops in Tapi town sell duplicates with funny names and similar packaging of original fragrances. With the advent of malls and high street stores, some original perfumes are now available locally.

Although Chanel no.5 and Joy do not yet feature on Surti shelves, there is no dearth of choice in fragrances that one has in Surat, to suit any demand of the whiff and wallet.

Tapi town tattle-Which team is the biggest hit of IPL 2009? ‘The zoozoo team!’