Damodhar Sri Sai Flora Fluxo Incense

This is a very famous incense - popular in India, and sometimes copied by other manufacturers, such as Hari Om's Fluxo.  And even where a manufacturer has perhaps not copied the packaging, they might have copied the name Fluxo, or at least the heavy loading of ingredients so the stick is rich and fat and very heavy.

From what I can tell, this incense has been around for 50 years, though the company that makes it today, Damodhar & Co, was formed in 1988, and it is distributed by Tejjas, whose details appear on the pack. Indeed, it appears as though - like Shroff/Channabasappa & Co, Damodhar and Tejjas may be different divisions of the same company, they have the same address: Dickenson Road in Bengaluru. 

The sticks are very fat and heavy and pregnant with oils, there is a petrol aroma on the sticks. It is surprisingly flexible - most incense sticks are straight and firm - these bend almost like rubber. The core is a charcoal based paste which is sticky and gummy, and that paste is applied first, and then a brown masala powder is rolled on top. I suspect, giving the moist feel, and volatile aroma, that this is then dipped in a fragrant oil of some sort. Comparing it with the Hari Om Fluxo, the Hari Om stick is much firmer, and the masala powder has been applied more neatly and consistently. The aroma is more perfumed on the stick, though there is a distinct awareness of volatiles. They both burn at around the same rate, and both produce plenty of smoke. There is something of a dhoop aroma in both - quite oily and smoky, and I suspect there is some ghee present. The main aroma is sandalwood, though there is also some slight suggestion of halmaddi - a sort of damp wool scent, combined with a sharp prickling.

As with the Hari Om, I find this likeable, even though there is nothing profound or interesting in the scent. It's a warm, woody, sensual scent - quite straight forward, but sometimes that is just what is wanted. It is a little heavier and blunter, and a little less sweet than the Hari Om, so the family all preferred the Hari Om, but not by much, and mainly because it was softer. I can imagine there would be others who would prefer this one. To each their own.


Date: Sept 2017    Score:  33 

 

Cheap as chips and available everywhere, you get a lot of bang for your buck. I always have a packet or two in the house.  Example retailers: PowellsAromatherapy UK (£1.65 for 25g); Sensia USA ($2.95 for 25g);  MagicEssence Aus ($2.70 for 25g);  InciensosDeSevilla Spain ( 82 Euros for 25g). 

This is not a subtle or a profound incense. It is actually quite crude, and I'm not sure how much this famous incense compares now with when it was originally made. It is a remarkably moist and flexible stick, and resembles a wet dhoop more than anything else. A wet smoky dhoop made with ghee and sandalwood powder. The wet dhoop has been rolled around a perfectly round bamboo stick, which must be machine made, then rolled in a fragrant masala and then dipped in oils/perfumes. So it's a combination of wet dhoop, masala, and perfumed incense. Rich, fat, strong, and very cheap. 

The scent on the stick is oily, prickly, perfumed, sweet, compelling and hugely attractive- mostly sandalwood. It is not a complex scent - the focus is on sweet sandalwood, hovering between woody and floral. After the burn, and lasting well into the next day, the scent in the room is of that sandalwood. The downside of this Sri Sai is between the stick scent and the after scent comes the burn. And the smoky wet dhoop smell is what dominates during the burn. It is a penetrating, assertive, and somewhat crude and rude scent. The pleasant fragrance of the sandalwood is in there, but is completely dominated by the smell of burning oil, butter, and petrol. A little goes a long way. On the whole this is not an incense that favours close up inspection of the fragrances during the burn, indeed, while I often do have it in the room with me, it is not an incense that many people could stand to have in the room with them for long periods of time. As with a firework, this an incense to light and stand well back. Perhaps, indeed, stand in the next room. Light it, stick it in a room you want cleansed and perfumed, and leave it for an hour or two to do its work. 

I like it. I like it for its place in the history and tradition of Indian incense because it has had such an influence. And I like it for the power and depth of its scent. But I recognise the downsides - that, despite the richness of its composition, it is actually quite a simple incense, quite a crude (albeit very effective) incense, and that during the burn it can be quite overpowering, and can at times touch on offensive with its smoky edges. Despite all that, I love the robustness of the scent, and the power and beauty of the oil enriched sandalwood. This is an incense that stands out in the crowd and makes itself heard. 

Date: Jan 2022   Score: 36 

***

Flora, Fluxo, and Supreme

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