The making of incense sticks, also called 'agarbathi' in Hindi, became an organised industry in Bangalore during the 1900s and was locally known as oodabathies (blowing fumes). The incense sticks were very simple to manufacture, as it was only a paste of natural ingredients mixed with charcoal and Gijit, and rolled on to bamboo sticks. The proportion of mixing was of main importance. The Maharaja of Mysore patronised the production and promotion of the incense sticks.[3] When they were given a certificate of merit from the Wembley exhibition in London, the Kingdom of Mysore gave the incense sticks as gifts to foreign visitors and guests, to encourage exports to other countries.[1]
Method of manufacturing
Herbs, flowers, Essential oil, barks, roots, charcoal are finely grinded into smooth paste and then rolled on to a bamboo stick and then dried undersun, special wood like sandalwood, Ailanthus malabaricum which yields halmadi and other natural ingredients were geographically only available in Karnataka before which gives special geographical indications
Geographical indication
The all India agarbhati association proposed the registration of Mysore Agarbathi under the Geographical Indications of Goods Act, 1999, to the Office of the Controller-General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks, Chennai, in order to make it exclusive the manufacturers of insence sticks who use only local available natural ingredients from the region to use the name Mysore.[1] It was granted the Geographical Indication status, three years later, in 2005.
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