Mysore Sandal stick: Fragrance that has stayed fresh for a century
The fragrance of Mysore Sandal ,powder, sandal essential oil has wafted across the world, creating a brand that India can be proud of.
When World War I was burning through the world, in 1914, the Mysore Royal Family was taking its baby steps in industrialisation. The erstwhile princely state of Mysore was home to sandalwood trees that were specially grown and exported. After World War I ended, tons of sandalwood logs lay abandoned in the state. The king, who wanted to investigate the source of the sandalwood’s fragrance, sought the help of his Dewan Sir M Visvesvaraya. The minister carried out experiments with the sandalwood log to extricate the oil that produces the pleasant scent. He worked along with another scholar, Sir Chatterton, Director of Industries and Commerce, Mysore. Sir M Visvesvaraya was closely associated with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), established in 1909. He and Chatterton requested them to lend support to this experiment. JJ Sudburough, a professor in the Department of General Chemistry, who had moved from the Department of Organic Chemistry, and HE Watson, an assistant professor from the same department at IISc led this project.
Their successful experiment led to the birth of the first Sandalwood Oil Factory in Mysore in 1916, which set out to become the world’s largest sandal oil distillery at the time. Soon after, Krishnaraja Wodeyar provided funds to establish another factory near KR Circle in Bangalore (now Bengaluru).
The process that they used to make the sandalwood oil was simple – and is largely followed even to this day. Sandalwood logs are cut – manually in those days – and the aromatic compounds are separated and processed into powder-like content. This is then distilled and vapourised to rid the material of water content. Next, the vapour containing oil extracts is collected in a pot, and the floating substance is extracted as oil. Further filtration is done soon after and the remaining water content is removed through a vacuum dryer. Finally, what is left is pure sandalwood oil. Most of these processes have become automated during the past 40 years. Although the sandalwood oil was quite popular, the product that really made heads turn was the Mysore Sandal Soap. In 1918, a French dignitary gifted a sandalwood soap to Krishnaraja Wodeyar. Quite impressed, the king called for a meeting with his ministers to find out how the Sandalwood Oil Factory can extend its operations to manufacturing soaps that can pack in this unique scent. The then Dewan of Mysore chose Sosale Garalapuri Shastry, who was involved in research at IISc, and sent him to London in order to study the technique of soap manufacturing. Shastry’s successful journey earned him the title “Father of Mysore Sandal Soap”. Once he returned, a soap manufacturing unit was set up near Cubbon Park in Bangalore the same year.