LOBAAN GULLY

"Bolo behen churi?" "T-shirt?" "Gaari ka part – naya?" "Aam Chahiye?" "Kebab? Sherbet? Bolo bhai?" Lit like a carnival by 200 watt bulbs and cheap tubelights at every stall, Null Bazaar, doling out the middle class consumer's every need at lowest bargainable price, could be Mumbai's oldest mall. Loban Gully, located at its far end, would then be its thrust towards super-specialization. The lane, flanked by aged two storey buildings, comprises of stalls well into the road, leaving a four feet gap for pedestrians and two wheelers. Begun around a century ago with stalls leased from the British at Rs 2 per month for a one by one metre stall, the grandchildren of those leasers, now paying Rs 750 a month to the BMC, continue providing loban, an incense, in greater variety and cheaper price than elsewhere in the city.

"First chemicals and natural elements – taken from specific trees, are mixed, then heated and crystallized," gesticulates Rafiq Agarbattiwaala, holding a loban crystal. "Then you heat, it evaporates, goes up… and comes back down as rain!" he ends, laughing at his take on chain reaction. The crystals then find their way to homes for fumigation and perfuming, religious places – where they're considered auspicious, and clay charcoal pots of fakirs, who roam streets, begging alms in exchange for a scented 'aarti'. An important ingredient of Hinduism, Islam and Zoroastrianism, sales shoot during festivals of each.

"The prices go from Rs 40 to Rs 400 per kilo," states Deepak Merude of Trimurti Kum Kum Bhandaar. "And we sell as little as 50 gm if the customer asks for it." Each shop provides 30 to 35 kinds of the incense as compared to the maximum of 10 types a shop elsewhere may provide. The incense is differentiated in grade and brand. An interesting controversy hangs over the most expensive loban: Singapur. Merude maintains, "Singapur, if original, has to be imported". Yet those at Yusuf Bhai's shop Zam Zam Perfuming contest: "Can you imagine the duty on such a product? It's always made in India – just called Singapur. And thus priced only at Rs 400 per kilo." Yet others say that Singapur is both a grade and a brand, and that while Singapur the 'grade' comprises of Flying Eagle, Aerobrand and TT which are from the far-east, the 'brand' is an Indian replica. For the regular buyer however, who opts for the local 786 (the most popular) or Mayur or Tiger… or loosely sold 'kauri loban' (Rs 40 per kilo), such debates – inherent in unorganized trade – are irrelevant.

A peculiar characteristic of Loban incense, is that while it pleases the senses from afar, coming closer to source swamps one with smoke, making the scent indistinguishable. "Much like our business," claims Irshad Bhai Agarbattiwaala, who's been running shop for over 50 years. He highlights the future threats posed to this seemingly prosperous market: "While the middle and lower class still use loban frequently, the hassle of burning such on a stove, and using it in an air conditioned room, is making many switch to agarbattis or room fresheners." Which in turn is making these loban sellers digress to stock an assortment of agarbattis.

Merude is now making Fahad Ahmed, a regular customer, sample a variety of loban scents on a charcoal sigdi there for the purpose. Ahmed buys a different scent every week for his mother and grandmother. "While electric stoves are available for those who cant use charcoal… they don't create the same effect," Merude explains. "It has to burn gradually, not melt." Ahmed pointing to the smoke adds, "Khushbu dikhta hai!" This was better said by famous Urdu poet Bashir Badr…

"Talkin-e-ibaadat kee hai mujhein yun teri muqaddas ankhon ne,

Mandir ke darichon se jaise loban ki khushbu aati hai.

Kuch aur bhi saansen lene par majbur sa main ho jaata hoon,

Jab itne bare jangal mein kisi insaan ki khushbhu aati hai."