Bangalore incense makers continuing an Attar family tradition dating to the early development of agarbatti.

The New Oriental Agarbatti Company continues a tradition of incense making that can be traced to Bangalore at the turn of the twentieth century, when members of the Attar family—traders in perfumes and aromatic materials—helped establish the bamboo-core incense stick now known as agarbatti. By binding fragrant paste to a slender bamboo splint, incense makers created a form of incense that could be lit instantly while preserving the aromatic character of the powdered blends and dhoop preparations long used in temples and homes.

During the 1920s the family expanded their work through the Mysore Agarbatti Company, developing new fragrances and helping introduce Indian incense to wider markets. Their work combined traditional incense bases — sandalwood, resins and aromatic powders — with the techniques of modern perfumery that were beginning to influence the fragrance trade at the time.

In 1968, Attar Syed Rahman Hussain established the New Oriental Agarbatti Company in Bangalore, bringing together generations of knowledge in both incense making and attar perfumery. Under his direction the company developed a portfolio of fragrances that reflected the expressive character of Indian incense, including enduring varieties such as Oriental Mogra.

Today the New Oriental range continues this lineage with richly perfumed sticks typical of the Indian domestic tradition — generous in fragrance and designed to carry through open homes and warm climates. They offer a vivid expression of the bold, aromatic style of incense that has been part of everyday life across India for more than a century.