A discussion by Dr. Pratyush Mishra on Smell and its connection to our wellbeing through the lenses of Kewda distillation in remote part of Odisha 

Half of an hour drive takes one from the jostling crowd of Brahmapur city in South Odisha to further south, to the quiet, quaint trappings of rural Odisha leads one  to what can be tagged as the village of essence, Keluapalli. On both sides of the road, lush green Kewda foliage swaying gently with the cool breeze from the nearby Bay of Bengal waves at you to attracts your attention to the fragrance permeating the air from the blooming flowers they proudly flaunt that can guarantee to lift any one’s mood to an inexplicable state.

Twenty six odd families in this village are engaged in a unique profession of extracting essence from Kewda flowers, the area being the only existing place having specialist Kewda distillers in India. A seventy two-years of continuity that supplied this essence to places far and wide including Kanauj, considered as the perfume capital of India for its perfume masters.

Almost 95% of total kewda products exported from India  has origin in the coastal areas of Chatrapur Rangeilunda, Chikiti and Patrapur areas spread around the city of Brahmapur.

Kewda, locally know as Kia or the male Pandanus flowers lend its name to this village Keluapalli, situated close to a tributary of Mahendratanaya river. The region is rich with sandy fertile soil where Kewda plants grow in abundance. In fact, the region starting from Chhatrapur, the district headquarter of Ganjam and spreading to south beyond Keluapalli is the area where Kewda foliage are seen everywhere. The second most abundantly flourishing species is that of cashew nut plants.

“If Kewda is the kings among foliage of the region, then, Bhalu Sahukar, the first and the oldest to tap into the gold of Kewda is the unanimous king of the Kewda land,”  quips Biren Nayak, a fourth generation youth of the distillery tradition and his direct descendant.

The Pandanus species is indigenous to tropical climates and regions with sandy soils. Kewda or Kia as it is locally called doesn’t need much tending despite the fact that its fruity heady essence has been a hit with connoisseurs of essences. Also called the Ganjam Kewda or the male screw pine, the foliage can go to the heights of 16-18 feet. The plant bears flowers or inflorescence on greater scale during winter and summers, both of which are important times for harvesting for producing kewda water, kewda rooh and kewda attar.

Gandha as a fundamental concept is older than mankind itself, as old as the fruitful earth herself. Smell is subtle energy element of one of the five primary sensory organs which is fundamental to all forms of living beings, whether those are minutesssimal or magnanimous, small to large, all types of living systems proactively engage with their surroundings through smell. Substances, which exude smell are called as odoriferous or odorants, and there are fine organs which capture and interpret these odors and convert them into bio-electrical signals which in turn is interpreted by the nervous system of the organisms. Yet, in context of human beings and the cultural realm of aesthetics, gandha is not simply smell, but a richer, deeper experience which is not limited only to smell and sensory organ per se. Smell sensations, often called as olfactory signals naturally play a significant and entrenched role in how human beings behave, modulation of that behavior, and often is extrapolated to interpersonal dynamics too. Every individual has a basic set of social configurations i.e. mindset, likes, dislikes, biases, temperament. All of this combined construe what is commonly called as behavioral matrix. Smell has been found not only to bridge a connection between these behavioral matrices among people but also groups at large, which in turn can affect the general mood of a group of individuals, even intrinsically divided them into classes. Hence, we can verily observe that the dynamics functioning around smell can be assuredly found to have been deeply ingrained into peculiar tastes and personality of an individual and a community at large. For example, for specific communities which engage in fishing, the smell of dried or smoked kipper irresistibly reminds them of the comfort and safety of their homes. The briny smell of the sea evokes in them a sense of adventure. The smell of ghee is often associated with auspicious festivals and rituals, so on and so forth.

Olfaction or smell is one of the oldest senses, evolutionarily speaking, which has been attuned by nature herself over the passage of time to function various vital tasks like identification of food, odor sensitizing through pheromones for finding potential partners, conveying a sense of approaching enemies or dangers. In short, smell has defined mankind’s cognitive evolution immensely, consciously, and often sub-consciously. Pheromones are an essential product of nature found in insects, cold blooded reptiles in addition to warm blooded mammals like us. These are simply chemical substances found in sweat and fluid secretions which highly modulate social behavior of human beings and a countless myriad other animals. Sexual attraction which is the basis of partner selection and acceptance is greatly regulated by pheromones as it has been studied that elevated levels of pheromones can lead to better social engagement, bonding, partner attraction and even intricacies of sexual arousal, and a whole array of related behaviors as well as mate selection. It is highly essential for reproductive propagation of our species. An individual with sour or oafish smell can turn off a potential partner, and it is often seen that the women are greatly inclined towards individuals, who have an appealing odor. It can surprise many that these serve as non-verbal cues to them and have more effect than even spoken words.

Only a few decades back, we came to know that there are a thousand different molecules whose odor an average human being can register. The surprising thing is that each individual odor evokes a different reaction from human beings across class and mass factors. Why? Well, that is for the researchers  of modern science to explore and explain. Yet, some profound answers can be found!

Indigenous communities had learnt to value the smell of specific essences greatly. They even got to the point of stating that these smells and odors could evoke complex experiences which are beyond smell itself, are appalling to students of human behavior, and  can germinate therapeutic effects if used over longer durations. Thus, indigenous knowledge systems do not take smell and fragrance for granted as each of its nuances have a different mood and elevated experience to convey to our deepest selves.

To state it simply, our sense of smell must not be taken for granted! It is as important as our eyes and ears- the auditory and the visual engagement with our surroundings. Essential oils and odors in various fragrances induce changes in specialized chemical receptors called as odorant receptors which, subsequently, create transformative experiences at neuro-cognitive levels, influence the way we experience the social and aesthetic dynamics around us. In short, how you smell, what smell you are carrying has deeper influence on the people and their behavior towards you. This piece of knowledge was well known to the various indigenous communities of yore, and they devised practical applications for that which could change one’s mental state and array of feelings using the help of specific fragrances at specific intervals throughout the day.

Essential oils can be extracted from leaves, flowers, roots, barks, resin seeds and fruits of plants. All over the world these extracts are being used in various set ups often in an informal way called as complementary  alternative medicines to help in healing of ailments.

The trails of the practice of distillation in the Indian subcontinent can be traced back to 150 BC in regions of Pushkalavati in ancient Gandhara and Takhsashila. In the Indus valley civilization excavations terracotta distillate apparatus have been found dating back to 3000 BC.

The process of distillation of Kewda flowers is rigorous and meticulous that demands patience, precision and astute planning. Right from the point of harvesting the kewda flowers in various stages of bloom to the cleaning and sorting these for the requisite products happens under watchful eyes of experts like Biren Nayak and his father. “Whatever instruments and equipment we need for the process, we procure from Kanauj. The copperware involved in the distillation process is imported from Moradabad. Keluapalli has been supplying kewda essence to the Kanauj perfumers for many decades. The distillation process is also dependent on the climate. The quality and nature of the fragrances varies discernibly during summers and winters. Cooler climate is better suited. It is for us to distil the kewda rooh (pure kewda oil), which costs equivalent to the price of gold,” says Biren.

The kewda flowers are sorted and cleaned before being put into huge earthen pots where they are exposed to steam – colloquially this is termed as cooking by the kewda distillers. A single batch can hold up to 300-400 hundred flowers to ensure equitable extraction of the essence. At times, up to 500-600 flowers are also used depending on the size, quality of the harvest, and the requirement of the distillers. The minimum number of quality flowers ensure that the steam within the earthen pot cooks the flowers well, thus, facilitating proper extraction of its essence. The earthen pots are heated by wood fire and the temperatures can get very high inside the pots. After the flowers have been trussed inside the earthen pot , the lids are placed and sealed with silt rich soil mixture, called  chikita maati in local lingo. Minimum water is used to prepare the soil mixture so as to prevent expansion and expulsion of the lid due to the high force of the steam within the pots. A bamboo pole of standard thickness with a long spout is used as channel through which the distillate passes from the huge earthen pots to markedly smaller containers. It is connected to the top of the huge earthen pots, and their elongated portions end into specially made copper vessels of 20-25 liters of capacity. These copper wares have linger snouts and are joined to one end of the curved bamboo poles and the gap is sealed by tying thick pieces of cotton cloth. This ensures that all the fragrant distillate enters directly into the collecting copper vessel and doesn’t escape. Moreover, the base of the vessels are dipped in cold water containing tanks. Temperature is regulated throughout the process, which is tedious, and demands great deal of patience form the personnel involved. The copperware are known as matkas. Depending on the repeat process of the distillate, these are called as agaadi or the first and pichhadi or the second pot. In some cases, third and fourth pots are also utilized, and they are called tiggadi, the third and chogaadi, the fourth respectively. These terms attributed to the pots are reminiscent of the local language of Kanauj, as these terms aren’t part of the local Odia spoken by the distillers.

Once the distillate has been obtained in the copperware, it is left to ferment for a few days (4-7 days) and as the water settles down, it is emptied at frequent intervals for the kewda distillate to come forth. Further distillation of the same may be carried out once or a few more times to get the purest stock. After that the distillate is placed in specially crafted camel skin bags and left to dry in the sun for four to five days before being transferred into steel clamped containers. The Kewda rooh or oil has applications in treating limiting conditions like arthritis and other inflammatory joint diseases. Apart from that, it is used as a bathing essential to add a twist to the day to day experience by various communities all over the world. It is used as flavoring substance and as condiments in food, sweets and sherbets in the form of kewda water. As they say, in the end it is all about the fragrance – gandha!

Gandha tattwa and the use of various fragrant substances had permeated into the day to day lives of ancient communities. It is evident from various methods and techniques used to extract fragrant oils, pounding dry powders and making pastes from various plant parts, not to mention the gums, resins and dried floral and plant parts. The Rig Veda and the Atharva Veda mention the use of fragrance and incense.  Aranyani, an ancient figure associated with the wilderness is revered in ?V 10.146-6 as

?? ñjanagandhi?surabhímbahvann?? m ák???val?m | pr?? hámm?g?? - 2 ??mm?táramara?y?níma?a?si?am ||

“Smelling an ointment, sweet-smelling, rich in food without cultivation; mother of wild animals, goddess of wilderness, I have now praised.”

In RV 7.59, seer Vashistha Maitravaruni renders a composite hymn, a part of which is the famous Mahamrityunjaya Mantra mentioning about sugandh. Here, the attribute of fragrance is attached to the master of healers, Rudra.

Gandha is stressed upon as one of the pancha tanmatras and linked to the earth element. Gandha was spoken as one of the many attributes of Bhumi in Atharva Veda 12.1.23-25, where the odor of the earth is said to be infused into her herbs and waters and even shared by the Gandharvas and the Apsaras. Perfumes have also found mention in the texts and exegeses of Charaka Samhita and Susruta Samhita.To name a few, the classic essences used were  from sandal wood, agar wood, musk, saffron, lotus, frankincense (gugulu), champaka, camphor and many more, often used spices like clove/lavanga, taalisapatra/tezpatta, javaadi/nutmeg, dalchini/Cinnamon to this day.

Plants produce essential oils as a byproduct of their metabolism, as a natural defense mechanism or a zone of inhibition to prevent other minor plants from growing around them or to self-treat bacterial or fungal infections which the plants suffer themselves. In nature, everything has a purposive blueprint – a subtle plan with specific purpose behind it.  Historically, essential oils have been utilized for a long time in different contexts. The aromatic resins and plant extracts have been in use since ancient times mostly through steam distillation, directly burning and using the ash, triturating or pounding into dry powders, preparing pastes by rubbing with water, and through capturing their essence in alcohol and other solvents to preserve for varying periods of time.

Ayurveda utilizes the fragrance and essences to balance the asymmetries in Vata-Pita-Kapha or the tridosha. Imbalance in Vata will maniferst as anxiety and can lead to excessively repetitive thoughts and unease in mind. Oil of jasmine (chameli) can lead to alleviation of stress and uplifting of mood. The oil of lemongrass when massaged and inhaled helps in management of chronic pain. The oil of lavender can help in skin infections especially in conditions like acne, improves circulatory system and helps in dealing with insomnia. Ginger and citrus oils are also used to balance vata dosha in the body along with medicaments taken orally or through application over specific parts of the body. Nagarmotha, often used as a base for incense cones and sticks is beneficial in vata induced arthritis and other degenerative joint conditions along with castor oil, kochila oil and strychnus nux vomica extracts, all combined and applied externally. Sandalwood has been known to generate a calming influence on the nervous system and overall wellness apart from combating heavy body odor. It is used with camphor to generate a more reinforcing effect.

The use of  fragrances as healing tools were known even during the times Susruta, who was instrumental in compiling works on Bhoota Vidya which is a part of the Ashtanga Ayurveda. The modern discipline of Aromachology studies psychosocial benefits of aromas and delves deep into the psychological impact of smell on human brain. Here, in states and emotions behind relaxation, exhilaration, sensuality, happiness and overall wellbeing are analyzed by stimulating olfactory pathways of the brain which have a deep connection with our limbic system or part of the nervous system linked with memories. For example, Jasmine enhances cognitive and problem solving skills as well as enhanced motivation to complete the tasks at hand. Similarly, sandalwood increases motivation of the individual. Work is also being done on concoction of oils to reduce road rage, heighten alertness, decrease anxiety and fatigue and also to manage cravings for various foods and substances. It lies in the domain of behavioral fragrances.

Traditions ascribing their origin to ancient seers like Kasyapa, Bhargavas, Angiras, Bharadwaja, Agasti and Mudgala have been known to transmit knowledge about healing oils for fevers, poultices, astringents, purgatives, pain relievers from one generation to another. Even a few decades back, local vaidyas upheld this aspect of the healing traditions before its fading due lack of patronage, and movement of descendants towards more lucrative professions.

Details and mentions about essences used in cosmetics and perfumery can be found in works of Varahamihira and Someshwara in later stages. A more recent figure would be the renowned scientist, Prafulla Chandra Ray as recent as 20th century.

With the unearthing of various fragrant material, in due course of time, triturated powders, pastes along with binding agents like benzoin or sambharaani were utilized to produce dhoop shaped as lumps or cones for generating pleasant smell on special occasions and creating an exhilarating atmosphere for various facets of life. Though bamboo sticks replaced the core of the dhups in due course of time, but the concept of aggarbatti or incense sticks came around only a few hundred years back. The word agarrbatti literally means a stick laced with preparation of agarwood. However, apart from Agarwood, these contain a diverse range of floral fragrances like sandalwood, champa, rose, and jasmine, citronella to unique mood changing fragrances like lavender, lotus and even heady ones like opium.

Mixtures known as havansamagri containing a wide array of herbs and flowers like nagarmotha (cyperus rotundus), satavari or asparagus racemosus, turmeric, sandal wood, jatamansi or nardostachys are used in rituals along with cow ghee even to this day to replicate the ambience and mood for the subtle emotions, that underlie any ritual. The whole crux rests on the fact that incense signifies gandha tattwa. Like before, it is used rampantly in various rituals, occasions or even for day to day activities or periods of personal reflection to generate a certain array of emotions within the individual or collective psyche. Smells can help in altering emotions and bring about a state to tap into deeper levels of existence. These facilitate experiencing life in a wholesome manner.

The kewda distillers of Keluapalli have upheld their decades old tradition. In earlier days, making profit was quicker and the ways of conducting the business simpler. With gradual passage of time due to many factors, the distillers are losing their way of life and zest for this magnificent art. “I don’t want my children or their children to follow my footsteps. Despite being an engineer, I devoted my youth to this as I wanted to preserve the knowledge and tradition of my forefathers. Off late, lack of support, heavy competition and delay from the buying parties in settling the payments which could go up to months have made it extremely difficult for us to continue for long. I don’t wish my children to walk on my footsteps.” Says Biren Nayak.

Stemming from the first families and, then, moving on to six offshoot families, the distillation process, its secrets and techniques have found way into workers and their descendants over a period of time leading to many kewda distilleries in the region. As a result cut throat completion has ensued and one needs to depend on the whims of various industry buyers for sales. This process of delayed profit is a great discouragement to the traditional kewda distillers. Apart from this, they also have to make both ends meet by engaging in other professions. Distillers like Biren Nayak and his aged father rue the lack of support from various authorities.  This dismal scenario  could render the art of kewda distillation extinct in coming few decades.

Either way, the human connection to the world of essences and mankind’s love affair with gandha doesn’t seem to lose its “essence” so easily!

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